Under this night sky
by Shoko Fuuyumi
Summary: It wasn't her beauty that enchanted them. It was her innocence that shone brightly like the full moon on the night sky, guiding them back on the right track. It was her care for all kind that had smothered their hearts. It was her loyalty towards her one true love that had pulled them all in.
1. Prologue: Welcome to my family

Well yeah, so I have decided to write a new story, although I know that I haven't finished my other ones, but this one has been bugging me and I just have to write it down...

The story will be Regulus x OC, but there will of course be some other pairings

Regulus Black has been my favorite character of Harry Potter and I don't even know why as he didn't have that much of screen time in both the book and in the movies, but I still like him.

This is just a prologue, but I was thinking of wrting this story in a format that there is less dialogue, but more decription, because I was thinking that reading dialogues are a bit boring, so i just gonna try this out a bit.

Another thing, if you have time, please go to my page and take part in the poll that I have. i just wanted to know the gender of the people reading my story so that I could improve my language a bit maybe, so it suites you more.

And now then, please enjoy~

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**Prologue: "Welcome to my family"**

**3rd person POV~**

_'Please I didn't mean it… I didn't want to hurt anyone… please…'_ her sobs echoed through the room's walls. "Please… don't leave me alone…"

Tightly hugging her legs, the girl sat on her bed, burying her face in the small gap between her legs and body. It was early in the morning, the sun hasn't come out yet and the fog was still enveloping the city, but there were already sounds of people getting ready for a new day. The girl couldn't sleep. Sleepless nights were usual occurrence to her, but these few months had been different. She had been different. The something that she had been trying to hold down inside of her had finally made its appearance.

_"Stay away from me you freak!" _the shouting rang in her head _"You have always been weird! We knew it!"_

"I really didn't mean it" she mumbled, drops of tears formed in her eyes.

The flapping sounds of a bird made her look up. Out in the sky was a small sparrow that was flying around her small window and eventually decided to sit down for a little rest. Curiosity took over sadness and the girl stepped out to take a closer look at the bird. Her smile grew wider when the small sparrow started to chirp softly. She hummed along with it, feeling happy for the first time in a long time. But that happiness was so small that it was broken by just a light touch of her fingers on the glass surface. The cracking sounds of the window glass have brought her back to reality as the sparrow hastily flapped its wings away. She quickly pulled her hand back, hugging it close to her body, her face full of fear and regret.

Just that moment, the door to her room opened, revealing the Headmaster of the Wool's Orphanage – Mrs Cole, her icy cold eyes looked down on the poor girl making her shiver in fear "I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to…." She said in barely a whisper.

"You have a visitor." She said briefly and moved out to let a senior looking man, with long white hair and beard, inside closing the door afterwards.

Still hugging her arms closely to her body, she kept staring at him as he came closer.

Realizing her fear and confusion, he smiled kindly, offering his hand "Nice to meet you, my name is Albus Percival Brian Dumbledore, please call me Dumbledore."

She looked at him, her eyes wide. The first smile in a long time has really smothered her childish heart. She wanted to reach out so much, but the image of the glass cracking crossed her mind. From her view, if glass would break just by touching, then what would happen to a human being? She was so scared. She lightly shook her head, but his quiet mutter "it's alright" had brought courage to her.

Slowly bringing her hand out, she lightly touched the palm of his hand with her fingertips, her eyes never leaving the sight, afraid of something might happen. The small contact with another human being had warmed not only her fingers, but also her whole body. She looked up at him and he gave her yet another warm smile. He placed his remaining hand on hers and said "It's alright now."

Warm liquid filled her eyes and gradually streamed down her cheeks. Dumbledore pulled the girl into a hug to soothe her as she cried hard, hands clutching his robes tightly. Isolation was too much of a cruel punishment for an innocent eleven year old girl like her and Dumbledore understood it.

"Let me introduce myself again then" he sat on a small chair opposite to the girl's bed "My name is Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Witchcraft?" she asked softly

"Yes, we have received information that in this Wool's Orphanage, a girl has awakened her powers as a witch, and that would be you, Cynthia Glinnis."

"So I am a witch?" she asked, horror in her eyes "am I…. going to be burned?"

Dumbledore looked at her quizzically for a split second, but then realized what she was going on about. It must have been the muggle story books that had given her that impression "I assure you that no such thing will happen to you. The witch and wizards world has existed for a long time. However, it is hidden from a plain person's sights as a human's nature is to be afraid of things more powerful than themselves."

"But I…" she mumbled "I don't want to hurt anybody…"

"I have no doubt in that, Cynthia. However, being powerful doesn't necessarily mean bad. There are many useful spells used for healing, protection and defending the ones you love."

"Magic can be used to heal?" she re-asked, surprised by the new information

"Yes." he confirmed kindly, noticing a spark in the little girl's eyes

"Can I… can I learn how to do it?"

"Yes, I'm here to officially invite you to attend our Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry" he got the invitation letter out and gave it to her.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY _

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE _

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) _

_Dear Ms. Glinnis, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Minerva McGonagall, _

_Deputy Headmistress_

Cynthia turned to the next page and saw the list of books and equipment mentioned in the letter.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY _

_UNIFORM _

_First-year students will require: _

_1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black) _

_2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear _

_3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) _

_4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) _

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags _

_COURSE BOOKS _

_All students should have a copy of each of the following: _

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk _

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot _

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling _

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch _

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore _

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger _

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander _

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble _

_OTHER EQUIPMENT _

_1 wand _

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) _

_1 set of glass or crystal phials _

_1 telescope set _

_1 brass scales _

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad _

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

The first question that came to her mind was the last thing she saw "My owl?" which she mumbled out without thinking

"In the magical world, we use owls to deliver our letters and packages. Usually applicants will have to send a confirmation note back to me if they would like to apply for the school. However in your case, I'm actually here in person, so if you accept our invitation, you will just have to tell me."

"Th-Then… please allow me to attend your school!" she said almost immediately

"Of course, Cynthia." He smiled "Now then, in our world, a child will become an adult at the age of 18" he explained "Before that, the child will have to be under supervision and support of another related adult" Her expression fell at the realization of what Dumbledore had just said.

"But… I…" she mumbled softly

"Yours, however," he continued, making her look at him "is a very special case. We have not been able to identify your parents' families as your mother had also been an orphan in the Wool's orphanage. And so…" he smiled "I would like to adopt you into my family if you'd allow me to."

Cynthia was really surprised at what she had just heard "Adopt? You will become my family?" she asked, tears filling her eyes again

Not saying anything, Dumbledore nodded with a warm smile. She sniffed, but couldn't hold her tears in. She bursted out crying as Dumbledore slowly stood up and pulled the small girl into yet another hug "Welcome to my family, Cynthia" he said kindly as she nodded into his robes.


	2. Chapter 1: Diagon Alley

Yay~ the first chapter~~~

Sorry to say that, NO, Regulus has yet to make his appearance in this chapter. I need background first to write the later parts...

Actually, I have read lots of Harry Potter fics and saw that many are written in British English, but I don't think I can do that, because I have gotten used to the American Accent, so really, I don't think I can do it. Sorry

Now then, please enjooy, I didn't think I could writhe this long for the 1st chapter though XD.

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**Chapter 1: Diagon Alley**

It didn't take long for the adoption documents to be processed and it was before lunch that Dumbledore took Cynthia out of the orphanage.

Her first impression of the magical world was the Leaky Cauldron, a very dark and shabby place, despite being called famous by Dumbledore. Dumbledore introduced her to the Bartender and he seemed very happy at the news, saying that even the mighty Dumbledore wanted to have the warm sensations of a family. His loud voice had indeed captured the attention of others in the shop, making them flock to see who the girl in question was. Cynthia was so shocked and scared that she hid behind Dumbledore, while the Bartender had to drive the other guests away. As an apology for making her scared, the Bartender kindly presented Cynthia with a plate of meat pie for lunch and although it was not steaming hot, it was delicious to say the least.

Parting with the Leaky Cauldron, Dumbledore took her to a clothing shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions to get her some plain black robes for Hogwarts, a pointed hat, dragon hide protective gloves, a winter cloak as well as other clothes for her every day wear. The shopkeepers were very surprised to see Dumbledore himself guiding a small girl around for shopping and her calling him 'grandfather' none the less. But they didn't question it and actively assisted the shy girl on her choice of clothes, understanding how hard and awkward it would be if Dumbledore had to help the girl to choose her clothing.

"Our next destination shall be the wand store" Dumbledore said "There it is -" he pointed "The Ollivanders."

Cynthia looked at the direction of Dumbledore's finger, excited about the fact that she was about to get a real wand, just like in the fairy tales she had read about.

A bell tinkled as Dumbledore opened the door for Cynthia. The place was very neat with countless narrow boxes piled up on the shelves, right up to the ceiling and a single wooden chair resting in one corner

"Good afternoon." the girl jumped at the soft voice. She turned around see a middle aged man with pale silver eyes shining through the gloom of the shop

"Good afternoon." Cynthia said shyly as he nodded

"Good afternoon to you too, Professor Dumbledore and who do we have here?"

"Um…" she looked up at Dumbledore to get permission for talking, which he granted with a small nod and smile "My name is Cynthia Glinnis Dumbledore. I have just become Grandfather's family today."

"Oh!" he exclaimed delightfully "I guess congratulations are in order then!" he offered her his hand "My name is Garrick Ollivander, very nice to meet you." she took his hand hesitantly and he shook it violently, making her feel really scared. "Now then! Let's get to business!" he pulled a long tape measure out of his pocket and asked "Which I your wand arm?"

"I'm right handed, sir." She said, still hiding behind Dumbledore

"Well, come here then, we don't have all day" he said impatiently and Dumbledore had to reassure Cynthia for her to come out of her hiding. He measured her arm from shoulder to finger, from wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and finally round her head. Correction, the tape was measuring her on its own, while Mr. Ollivander was fitting around the shelves, taking down various boxes.

"Let's start with this one then: phoenix feather and cherry. Take it and give it a wave." Cynthia did as was told, but just as she waved it, flame came out of the wand, burning one of the shelves. Cynthia was terrified out of her mind, but the fire was put out immediately by Dumbledore, assuring her for her next wand trial.

"Dragon heartstring and cedar." he said simply and handed over the wand. Cynthia took it and accidentally waved into a circle. When the circle had been completed, it formed a wall of tornado, knocking not only the wand boxes down from the shelves but also the shelves themselves. Dumbledore had to cover for her at the same time as stopping the rampaging tornado. Cynthia was so scared by now, she didn't want to do it anymore, but Dumbledore kept encouraging her, saying everything would be alright, he would protect her.

Believing his words, Cynthia stood up to take her third wand, unicorn hair and cypress, she vaguely heard Mr. Ollivander saying. Just as the want fell into her hands, cracks appeared along the wood and in matter of a few seconds, it exploded right in her hand, making her squat down in fear and pain. Dumbledore immediately got to her, picking her up and putting her on the small chair "Show me your hand." he said impatiently as she listened to him. Her hand was not heavily damaged with exception of come minor cuts and bruises. Dumbledore took out his own want and muttered a spell to heal Cynthia's hand.

She sniffed softly "Is there any way that I can learn magic without a want, grandfather?" he looked at her kindly, knowing what she might be feeling right now. The experience was too much for an eleven year old after all. He decided to smile kindly "There is, but now…" he took a glass of water from Mr. Ollivander's hands "Here, have some water first."

She took it and drank in small gulps.

Noticing that she had calmed down, Dumbledore decided to speak "Listen Cynthia, there are ways to perform magic without a wand, but it is very advanced and hard to learn. I would like to teach you, but you cannot learn it if you haven't got the basics of controlling your own powers, not letting it go rampage, because it might hurt other people."

She nodded.

"And to learn this, you need to have a wand."

She nodded again, knowing that her grandfather was right and that she shouldn't be stubborn and listen to him.

He took her hand in his "But I understand that you must be terrified right now, so stay here, while I'll help Mr. Ollivander find the right wand for you, alright?"

She sniffed a bit, but nodded none the less.

Leaving her to fiddle with the water cup, the two older men started casting spells to re-organize the boxes knocked over by the tornado and also fix the shelf that was burned by the fire. It was an easy task for a high level wizard like Mr Ollivander and ever more do for Dumbledore. After having cleaned up, the two of them went to search for possible wands for Cynthia. The girl's mind was very unstable right now, it was best if they could actually find a wand without having to make her try out too many of them. Easier said than done.

Cynthia looked at the two, feeling quite a bit guilty for all the mess that she had created. She might not have meant for it to happen, but after the experience she had had in the orphanage, this was not something she could blame on if her powers had actually hurt somebody. The only thing she should be doing right now was to sit quietly on this chair and prepare for whatever was going to happen when she was to pick up another wand.

However, for an eleven year old girl, who had just been introduced to the magical world, she just couldn't help but look around at the shop's interior, which was just fixed from a wreck to a nice and tidy little room just as it was before. _'It is really magical'_ was all that she could think about. It was just as if she had never created that fire or that tornado.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed a white twig pocking out under the shelves. Curiosity dominated over her shyness as she stood up to see what it was. Her actions, however, had caught the attention of the two older men, when she kneeled down to pick the stick up, it turned out to be a worn out wand with various cracks along its body.

"What is it, Cynthia?" Dumbledore asked

"Grandfather!" she jumped from the sudden call and stood up quickly "I saw a wand lying under the shelves, so I thought I should pick it up" she showed it to them. The two older men looked at the shabby wand uninterestingly, thinking that it was probably damaged from things happening just now, until lights emitted from the cracks. Cynthia was very surprised by this, but deep inside, she wasn't scared. The rays of light were warm and kind, they felt really close to her. The lights died down to reveal a totally new wand with a white tip and gradually changing into a deep red colour at the base of the want. What miracle was this? It was a known fact that once a wand had been broken, there was no way of fixing or returning it to the way it was before.

Dumbledore looked back at Mr. Ollivander as the other man shook his head lightly, blinking his eyes in surprise. "May I see that wand, Cynthia?" Mr. Ollivander finally asked after what it seemed to be forever.

"Yes sir" Cynthia said and stepped closer to give him the wand

"This is!" Mr Ollivander exclaimed after having examined the wand for a minute. He looked at Dumbledore and continued "This is one of the wands that I have experienced with using two wand cores and a wood base to create a wand. I have thought that this would make wands stronger in power and more convenient for the users. My ancestors said it was impossible, but I didn't believe it and still wanted to try it out. I failed in the end, but I remember having gotten rid of them all a long time ago! They shouldn't exist anymore!"

Cynthia couldn't understand a thing Mr Ollivander was talking about and was now getting a bit scared of the loud voice he was using, that she was creeping closer to Dumbledore. Although he seemed more happy than mad.

"Now, now" Dumbledore spoke to calm Mr Ollivander down "So what is this want then?"

"It's yew combined with dragon heartstring and unicorn hair, eleven inches. Theoretically speaking, it should be good for duelling as well as healing, but as I have never experienced this kind of thing before, I am not really sure about it" just as he finished speaking cracks appeared on the wand again, returning it to its previous appearance. Dumbledore looked at Mr. Ollivander questioningly as the shop owner proceeded to explain "As there are two cores inside the wand, they continuously fight each other, so the wood cannot withstand it and will eventually snap or, as you can see, have many cracks, preventing anyone to use it. But for some reason…" he looked at Cynthia "Here, hold it again" and handed over the wand to her

She took it and the same thing as before happened again.

"Your granddaughter seems to be able to diminish the forces of the different cores, making them harmonize" Mr Ollivander continued "It would seem like the wand has chosen Miss Cynthia as its owner."

Cynthia looked happily at Dumbledore as he replied with a kind smile. Softly rubbing her head, he said "Yes, it's your now. Give it a wave."

She happily obliged and a soft gust of wind carried through the room, lightly caressing her hair and cheeks.

In the end, Mr, Ollivander didn't take any money for the wand, saying that it wasn't something for sale and he meant to throw it away, so it must have been fate that guided her to the wand and he would be very happy to hand it over to her.

"Out of all the cores combination, to think she would be compatible with the most radical one..." Mr Ollivander mumbled to himself after Dumbledore and Cynthia had left the shop "Dragon heartstring and unicorn hair... Combined with Yew too... How interesting... How very interesting..."

Excited by the fact that she had just gotten her first wand, Cynthia didn't notice that Dumbledore had led her to their next destination: the pets shop. The things that brought her back to reality were the sounds of the owls flapping their wings in protest inside their cages and their vocals. Cynthia lifted her head up from her wand to see a relatively small and dark shop with owls of different colours in cages in the front of the shop. They both stepped inside to be greeted by various owl vocals, it was loud, but still had its own melodic element. The owner greeted them and asked if they had any preference to a specific type of owl or any other type of animals, but Dumbledore allowed Cynthia to go around and browse for her favourite one. After a few minutes of browsing, a person slammed the shop's doors open, bringing with him a cage "Just got the owl today, put it on sale for me, will ya?" he said happily

The owl's soulful dark brown eyes caught Cynthia's for a few seconds before it rang its vocals and flapped its wings.

The small girl wasn't very familiar with these types of birds, but compared to the other owls in the shop, this one held such different pair of eyes, which was dark and deep, in contrast with the glowing amber or golden eyes of others. It was so fluffy too.

"It's a barred owl, not British native, but can be easily raised. Got lots of fur, so got really quiet wing flapping." The man said

Noticing his granddaughter's interest, Dumbledore asked "Do you like it, Cynthia?" the small girl nodded softly "Then we'll buy it!" the older man declared enthusiastically

Having bought all the necessary equipment for Cynthia's first school year, Dumbledore led Cynthia back to the Leaky Cauldron, more specifically, its fireplace. The small girl was beyond confused and scared and she was clinging tightly to her grandfather's robes, but none the less, she believed that he knew what he was doing. Dumbledore took a fist full of Floo powder and shouted "Godric's Hollow!" as an emerald green flame surrounded their bodies, teleporting them to the shouted destination.

When Cynthia opened her eyes, she was in a cosy living room with sofas and a rectangular table with a plate of pastries. She just felt so… at home.

"Welcome back, Master" a melodic voice rang from below, making Cynthia look down

"Ah!" she exclaimed and immediately hid behind Dumbledore

"Do not be alarmed, Cynthia" Dumbledore pushed her forwards lightly "Let me introduce you two. This is Melody, my house-elf. She had been in my family for a long time, helping out with my meals and the house's cleanliness. I'm afraid I cannot be at home at all times, so Melody shall be taking care of your needs as well." Melody bowed down a bit "And Melody, this is Cynthia, she has become my family member as off today, please take good care of her."

"Of course, Master" she bowed down again and turned to Cynthia "It would be my pleasure to serve you, Miss Cynthia."

"P-please just call me Cynthia" the small girl smiled awkwardly, still unable to take in that was happening in front of her "Please take care of me."

"As you wish then, Cynthia. Shall Melody take Cynthia to her room then, Master?" she asked

"Yes, I'll leave it to you to help her set in. Cynthia, please follow Melody's guidance, alright?" Dumbledore smiled kindly

"Yes, Grandfather."

Following Melody to the second floor of the house, Cynthia was now facing with an L shaped corridor with doors on each side of the wall and was led into the door on the right one. The room was much bigger that what she would have ever wished for. There was a window on the right wall, looking to the backyard, and a study table in front of it. Next to it and lined up against the back wall was a newly made, one person bed and opposite to it was a tall and wide wardrobe and finally next to it was a door to the bathroom, which also included a relatively large tub and a full body mirror.

Cynthia immediately ran down the stairs looking for Dumbledore. He was still in the living room "Grandfather the room is very beautiful! Thank you so much!" she spoke as tears of happiness filled her eyes

"I'm glad you like it then" he smiled and got closer to rub her head kindly "It's kind of late now, so please finish unpacking quickly and take shower so we can have dinner, alright?"

Cynthia wiped her tears with her wrist and nodded "Yes, Grandfather."

She ran up and saw that Melody had already put everything in its place. There was also a bird stand right next to her window where she could put Leonis' cage on. The sky was turning darker and so Leonis started to create havoc inside his cage. Leonis was the owl's name by the way.

"Melody, would it be alright if I opened Leonis' cage? He won't fly away, won't he?" Cynthia asked

"No, he won't, Cynthia. He has accepted you as his master, so he will always remember where you are and return to you"

Cynthia smiled "Then I'll be letting him out for a bit now" she opened the cage and Leonis flapped his wings out and through the window. He did a few circles up in the air and flew away from her sights.

"Don't worry, he will come back soon." Melody reassured

"Okay, I believe you, Melody." she said and went to the bathroom

When Cynthia came down the stairs, dinner was already served on the table. There were so many things: hot soup, meat, baked dishes that Cynthia didn't know what should she look at or start from. Dumbledore called her name and motioned her to sit down next to him.

Dinner was great. It had been a long time since she was allowed to eat steaming hot food and sweet deserts not to mention "I believe that Melody has showed you around the house a little bit, hasn't she?" Dumbledore asked

"Yes, Grandfather, Melody told me that Grandfather's room is next door to mine and opposite to my room is the reading room. There's even a room where you can see stars!" Cynthia answered excitedly

Dumbledore smiled "It's good to see you two already getting along. There will be lots of things you have yet to understand whether it's about the house or the magical world, so don't hesitate to ask questions to either me or Melody."

"Okay!"

After dinner, Cynthia was even more surprised by the dishes flying over to the sink and started washing themselves as Melody flicked her fingers, she would definitely need to ask Melody to teach her these tricks! Or magic!

After a few minutes of watching and chatting, Cynthia let out a small yawn, which didn't go unnoticed by Melody "You must be tired, Cynthia. Let's get you to bed; it has been a long day for you after all."

Cynthia nodded "Thank you Melody. Good night Grandfather"

"Good night, Cynthia. Sweet dreams."

When Cynthia got into her room, Leonis was already sitting on the window still singing into the night. She smiled a bit at the sight of the bird and went to get him. He obediently sat on her arm and climbed into his cage "Good night Leonis." she whispered

Having changed into her pyjamas, Cynthia climbed onto her bed and had a good night sleep in the longest time ever.

Noticing that Cynthia had already fallen asleep, Melody smiled a bit at the small girl and got out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

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**rustedpetals: thank you for alerting**

** S. coral: thank you for favotiting and alerting**

**SoullessSky: thank you for alerting**

Yay~ thanks you guys, I really didn't expect anyone to read or not to mention even favorite and alert this story already. I think that this story will get better and better, so stay tunned!


	3. Chapter 2: Hogwarts

Regulus makes his appearance!

Have fun reading and don't forget to review!

Much appreciated~~~

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**Chapter 2: Hogwarts school of Witch and Witchcraft **

"I'll miss you, Melody" Cynthia said, tears filling her eyes. It had been one week since they met each other, but for the small girl, Melody was just like a mother. She cared for Cynthia, read books with her, told her stories about the Magical world, all what Cynthia could had ever asked for.

"I'll miss you too, Cynthia. Did you bring your money pouch? You might want to have some snacks on the train" As Dumbledore had to go back to school beforehand, Melody was in charge of packing Cynthia's things and also delivering her to the Kingcross' station. Because Melody couldn't just casually walk into the muggle side of the station, she had to use the Floo network to get Cynthia directly to the platform 9 ¾. Apparition was out of the question because Cynthia hadn't gotten used to magic yet.

"I'll be alright, I got it here." Cynthia wiped her tears

"You'd better go and find a compartment then" Melody said "Have a good year. Please ask Master, your grandfather if anything bothers you. You'll be alright, I'm sure of it."

"Okay, thanks Melody" Cynthia nodded "Wait here, I'll find a cart soon!" she said, not wanting to part with Melody just yet.

Walking, or running even, to the closest cart, she opened the door to see that it was already occupied by another person. All of her energy seemed to disappear all of a sudden and it its place, shyness was shining in all its glory "Um…" she whispered "Is this sit still open?" the boy didn't look up from his book and just lightly nodded "May I…" she saw him nod again "Thank you." Cynthia said quietly so not to disturb him again. Setting her bag down, she ducked through the window and waved to Melody.

"Now, Cynthia, when the train moves, you are not to duck your dead out like this, it's very dangerous" Melody reminded

"I know, don't worry" she smiled "I just wanted to chat with you a bit more, we won't be able to see each other till Christmas after all."

"Just remember to write to me, alright?"

"Of course!"

Umber known to them, the boy in the cart was surprised by the conversation they were having. It was a rare thing for a witch to talk to her house elf in such an affectionate way. House elves were usually treated as slaves, but this girl, Cynthia was her name, didn't have such tone in her voice. He felt a bit happy to know that there were still people like this in this world.

The train moved as Cynthia had finally parted with Melody. The cart was quiet except for the sound of train tracks. Cynthia was feeling very shy now that Melody was gone and there were only the two of them inside the cart. But remembering Melody's words "make lots of friends" she decided to take initiative "Um… thank you for letting me join you."

He looked up a bit from his book. Cynthia was surprised at how good the boy looked. Short and straight black hair, black eyes that seemed so deep they could look through her soul, he had a round and cute face, but it didn't diminish his cold and superior aura. "My name is Cynthia Glinnis Dumbledore, n-nice to meet you."

"Dumbledore?" he asked coldly, but a hint of surprise was in his voice "Albus Dumbledore?"

"Yes, he adopted me from the Wool's Orphanage recently…" she answered awkwardly. Were people going to react like this every time she said her name? She must learn how to deal with this from now on then.

"Regulus Black." he said simply

"O-Oh, nice to meet you." but he made no sign of approval as he went back to reading his book. Cynthia took that as a sign of 'wanting to be left in peace' and decided to take out her own book for reading. However, just that moment, the train had gone out of London's borders and before Cynthia's eyes were grass fields full of cows and sheep as far as the eyes could see. Cynthia just couldn't help but lean onto the window still a bit to look at the scenery before her eyes. This would be the first time she had stepped out of London like this, everything was so amazing.

Regulus' eyes subconsciously followed Cynthia's gaze and then returned to her again. Only now he could take a look at her appearance. She had long black hair, looking at her wrist he could see that she was quite thin, blue eyes, too big for her thin face, but they were sparkling, not only from the sunlight, but also from excitement and curiosity.

Feeling his gaze on her, Cynthia looked back at him, but Regulus had already returned to his book, leaving her wondering if she was just imagining things.

The rest of the trip was peaceful. Except at around half past twelve, a dimpled woman slid back their door to offer things from her trolley for lunch. Cynthia bought some Cauldron cakes and Regulus got some Pumpkin Pastries and Licorice Wands.

The sky went dark as mountains and forests came into the view. The train was slowing down and a voice suddenly echoed through the train "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to school separately."

Just after the announcement, both Regulus and Cynthia stood up to put on their robes and waited until the train stopped at a dark platform. Everyone pushed their way towards the door and there, waiting for them, was a gigantic man, holding an oil lamp.

"Firs' years Firs' years over here!" he shouted "C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer steps now! Firs' years follow me!"

They followed the huge man named Hagrid down a steep and marrow path. The forest around them seemed so dark and scary, just one wrong step could make them lost and never be found. Unable to see what was under her feet, Cynthia stumbled on a tree root. She almost fell down if she didn't grab onto the robes of the person in front of her "I-I'm sorry" she said and looked up to see that it was Regulus

"Watch your steps" he said simply, leaving her to whisper a small "Thank you" behind

The narrow path opened onto the edge of an enormous lake. The water was still, reflecting the bright starry sky opposite to it.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to the little boats sitting in the water by the shore

Cynthia was now waiting for her turn to get on the boat. When the person before her had properly seated, she decided to step on the boat herself. But just as she stepped onto the boat, the person on it suddenly stood up, exclaiming "I dropped my wand!"

The boat shook violently, unbalancing both Cynthia and that person. She closed her eyes, waiting for either getting hurt or getting wet. However, whatever she was waiting for didn't come. Instead, she felt a pair of strong hands holding on her shoulder, balancing her from falling. She opened her eyes to see that it was Regulus who had helped her. She immediately straightened up from his gasps "Thank you very much" she said quickly, her face was almost steaming from embarrassment. She actually managed to stumble right in front of someone she just met today twice! Just how clumsy was she? She quickly turned back to climb onto a boat and promptly hid her face from him to prevent him from seeing how red her face was.

When all the students had gotten on the boat, it glided across the lake, revealing a great castle with many turrets and towers, lit with luminous light and sparks. But Cynthia's mind was nowhere on the scenery before her eyes. She could still feel Regulus' grip on her shoulders, it was strong, but yet so warm and gentle. It was good that she heard Hagrid yelling "Heads down!" when the boats reached the cliff and carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle. Finally, they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they got off the boats to a huge oak door, which Hagrid's huge fists knocked onto. Not before he returned the previously lost wand, which he picked up from Cynthia's boat, to its master.

The door swung open and a tall, black-haired witch in emerald green robes was waiting for them there

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall" said Hagrid

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here"

The entrance hall was huge with lots of flaming torches lighting the place. They followed Professor McGonagall across the marble floor and drone of hundreds of voices could be heard from a doorway to the right. The rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." And she left the chamber.

Cynthia had heard about the four houses of Hogwarts from Melody and she hoped that she could be in Griffindor just as her grandfather was. She briefly wondered where Regulus wanted to be, but didn't have the courage to ask him.

Then, something happened that made her jump about a foot in the air – several people had even screamed. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room, smiling and greeting students

"New students!" one of the said, smiling around them "About to be sorted, I suppose"

A few people nodded, but most were too afraid to move

"Hope to see you in Ravenclaw" said another one "My old house, you know"

"Move along now" said a sharp voice "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start" Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall "Now, form a line" Professor McGonagall told the first years "and follow me"

The students did as was told and followed Professor McGonagall through the right doorway from before. The room was splendid. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first ears up here, so that they came to halt in a line facing the other students, with teachers behind them. The first years looked around nervously, wondering what to do, while the ones already siting waited eagerly for a new member of their house to appear.

Professor McGonagall silently places a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool, she placed a pointed wizard's hat. For a few seconds, there was compete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a moth and the hat began to sing:

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

After the song Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long roll of parchment "When I call your name, you will sit on this stool and put on the hat to be sorted into your respected houses."

It wasn't long until a familiar name rang out for Professor McGonagall's lips "Black, Regulus."

Regulus stepped up and waited for the hat to sort him _'Another Black, another interesting mind'_ the hat hummed in his head

_'Just put me into Slytherin'_ he thought sharply

_'Really? Don't your heart long to be somewhere else?'_

_'It… doesn't…'_ Regulus thought, mostly to himself

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted as the Slytherin table cheered welcoming their first new comer

When Professor McGonagall took the hat off Regulus' head, Cynthia couldn't help but notice a glint of sadness in his eyes. He slowly made his way to the table, trying hard not to look over to the opposite side.

Cynthia was so focused on Regulus that she didn't pay attention to the sorting ceremony until her name was called out "Dumbledore, Cynthia."

_'Ah! Dumbledore's adopted granddaughter. Interesting. Ravenclaw or Huflepuff'_ the hat's voice made her jump a bit _'Griffindor wouldn't be a bad choice as well'_

_'Is it possible'_ Cynthia thought timidly _'I would like to be in Griffindor please'_

_'And why is that?'_

_'Melody said grandfather was in there, so I wanted to be like him'_

_'Yes, Dumbledore was indeed in Griffindor. And I don't think I would mind putting you in there'_

_'But…'_ Cynthia suddenly halted the hat's thinking

_'But?'_ the hat followed her gaze, which fell onto a certain person on the Slytherin's table _'Regulus Black huh? He was interesting too.'_

_'He wasn't happy being sorted into Slytherin.'_ she said certainty in her voice now

_'No, he wasn't, but it was his choice. But I need to sort you now. Maybe your grandfather would let you talk to me later in his office.'_ the hat chuckled "GRIFFINDOR" the hat shouted

Professor McGonagall took off the hat as Cynthia turned back to see her grandfather smiling at her and clapping his hands to congratulate her. On her way to the table, sadness crept into her heart as she peered at Regulus, who wasn't paying any bits of attention to her, but was rather chatting with the others on the same table.

The Sorting ended and after the welcoming speech from the Headmaster, the tables were now filled with food and drinks

"Wow, you're Dumbledore's granddaughter, huh?" a boy with strangely familiar eyes and facial features asked from across the table

"Wow you must be really good then!" another boy with messy brown hair and glasses chimed in

"N-No, I'm…" Cynthia couldn't help but stumble on her words

"You are scaring her, guys" Another one stepped in "My name is Remus Lupin, this is James Potter and the other one is Sirius Black" he pointed "We are second years, pleasure to meet you."

Cynthia nodded "It is my pleasure to know you too.", but her eyes wandered over to the Slytherin's table at the sound of the name Black. She wondered if they were brothers, their resemblance was transparent. Her heart leapt for a second when she noticed that Regulus' eyes were also on her, but he immediately turned away and Cynthia was brought back to reality when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Lily Evans, second year." A female person with wavy red hair approached her.

"Nice to meet you." Cynthia smiled awkwardly

"Hey, you guys didn't scare her didn't you?" She asked the boys from before "Look how scared she is!"

"N-No!" Cynthia stopped Lily from talking "I-It's not their fault, I'm just a bit… nervous…"

"Oh" she smiled "This is your first year after all, but don't worry, you'll get used to it soon. Besides, I have just asked the Head girl, seems like you will be in the same dorm room as me, so if you need anything, just ask me."

"Yes thank you very much."

After dinner, the students followed the prefects back to their own houses and then Lily guided Cynthia back to their own room. Although tired, Cynthia decided to write a letter to Melody to inform her of the Sorting as well as a short letter to thank Regulus for his help for the whole day before actually going to sleep "Please send this to Regulus Black first and then Melody for me, Leonis." she whispered, smiling at her first owl-delivered letters. Although Cynthia didn't know how Leonis could ever know who Regulus Black was, Melody had assured her that owls are so much brighter than what people think them to be and they would definitely deliver the letters to the right person. And Cynthia believed in Melody and Leonis too, so things should be alright.

But the answer, which came next morning wasn't what she would have expected

"You owe me no gratitude.

Don't ever talk to me again.

R.A.B"

* * *

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	4. Chapter 3: An offer

The next chappy is here! I really have the habit to write stories down on paper first and then type it into the computer, and I hate typing... I wish somebody would type it for me... or maybe I could scan the paper and the comp would type in for me or sth... ah... so lazy...

But today is Tanabata festival in Japan - the festival of Stars, a very fitting festival for this story, so I had made some great efforts to finish it. Good thing I made it in time...

There's a huge time skip from the previous chapter to this one, but I think this is the best way for it.

Have fun reading and don't forget to review!

Much appreciated~~~

* * *

**Chapter 3: An offer**

"So you have decided on this profession?" Professor McGonagall asked. It was after Christmas holidays of the 5th year and he Dorm Heads were now checking for the last time whether the students have changed their opinion on their future career.

"Yes, Professor, I have aimed to be a healer ever since my grandfather adopted me from the Wool's Orphanage. I have been working towards this goal ever since then"

"Yes, you have had excellent results in all the required subjects for this profession. However, just as your grandfather, you have such wonderful gifts for duelling and charming that you could easily pass for an Auror and other professions as well. But if you have made up your mind, I will wish you best of luck on it" She pulled out a parchment "Here are the list of subjects and topics you will need to pass for your OWL and NEWT if you want to work in this career."

"Thank you very much professor" Cynthia accepted the parchment.

"One more thing, Cynthia. Professor Slughorn has consulted me about one of his students and said that if he wanted to pass this year's OWLs for the profession he was aiming for, he would have to have more tutoring on Ancient ruins as soon as possible. As you are the top student for this class, he had asked me to consult with you on this problem."

"May I ask who I would be tutoring, Professor?"

"He would be Regulus Black." the professor stated simply

Cynthia's heart leapt at the sound of his name. More than four years had passed, but her feelings for him hadn't faded a single bit, it had just gotten stronger. Trying hard to keep a calm face she said "But I though he was great in his studies, Professor?"

"Yes, he is. He is still great in many other subjects, but it would seem that he had changed his mind about his profession this year and Ancient ruins had not been on his OWL list earlier, he must have payed less attention to it. I know Ancient ruins are not one of the subjects you need for you OWL, but I hope you could make some time for him."

"Of course Professor, I would love to help him." she said a bit too enthusiastically "I mean…" Cynthia tried hard to think of a way to change the subject, but nothing came up

Professor McGonagall didn't comment on Cynthia's over excitement, but continued with tutoring arrangements "It would seem that Mr Black has Quidditch practices on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Would Tuesday and Friday evening every week be alright with you, Cynthia?"

"Yes, Professor." Cynthia answered, grateful for Professor McGonagall's change of topic "I have Astronomy on Wednesdays anyway."

"Alright then, you can use my classroom for your tutoring if you need. Thank you, Cynthia. I'll let Professor Slughorn and Mr. Black know."

"Yes, Professor" Cynthia said and left Professor McGonagall alone in her office

Unable to hold back her happiness, she almost skipped back to the Griffindor common room, her lips corners tugged up as her heart was beating fast from anticipation. This would be their first **real **contact in years, first **real** conversation too. She had really missed the sound of his voice. She really had to write about this to Melody soon. Currently, the only one that Cynthia had shared about her unrequired love to was Melody. Dumbledore might have known about this thanks to his Legimacy, the Thinking hat… from first year even… and Professor McGonagall who might had just noticed now.

"Something good happened?" the voice of Lily Evans brought her back to reality

"Lily!" Cynthia squeaked "You scared me!"

"What were you thinking about that made you so happy and so out of it?"

"Tha-That's…"Cynthia stumbled "Well, I just talked to Professor McGonagall about my future profession…"

"Yes?" Lily prompted her to go on

"And she agreed that a Healer is a perfect profession for me." Cynthia finished

"And?" she inquired further, but Cynthia stayed silent "That's it?" Cynthia nodded awkwardly .

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lily shouted "There's no way that is the truths"

"B-But it is…" Cynthia shuttered. Well, she wasn't lying, but she certainly wasn't telling the whole truths.

"Listen here now, Miss Cynthia Glinnis Dumbledore!" Lily called out Cynthia's full name making the younger girl flinch from tension "No matter how bright you are in all your subjects, you are still very bad at hiding your own emotions. Everyone can see it on your face that you are not telling the whole truths!"

"Wow, wow what is it, Lily? Getting so excited." A messy black haired individual jumped in. And as everybody knows, where ever this individual appeared, other individuals of the same group would bound to appear a few seconds later too.

"What have you done to make my Lily so mad, Miss Cynthia?" James Potter piped in and got a "since when was I yours, Potter." from Lily, punching his shoulder lightly, but her voice was soft and with humour rather than anger.

"What happened Cynthia?" the current Prefect – Remus Lupin said in vain efforts to stop his friends from being too excited. Behind him was Peter, who never really interacted with Cynthia, but would rather stay in the background "I heard that you were in Professor McGonagall's office for quite a long time, after which you came out, feeling happier than ever."

"H-How did you know about that?" Cynthia shuttered at the new information she just received.

"You were practically skipping on your feet, anybody would have noticed that." Sirius chimed in "I just happened to pass by when you came out, by the way."

James was practically rolling his eyes at Sirius' statement, but ignored it anyway "So, what happened? We're all ears." he said

"I-I…" Cynthia was panicking a bit now. She knew how much her friends didn't like Slytherins. It was not just about the war, which was getting more and more intense every day, but also what happened in their fifth year between Lily, James and Serverus. She, herself, had been against the sorting of the student into different houses, which usually ended up in students hating each other just because of the Houses' inheritance. But her grandfather had explained to her about the benefits of development in the right fields for the students' future and some other reasons that had left her no room for argument. However now, under scrutinisingly excited eyes, she just couldn't run away. And it was not as if she could hide this fact forever. She cleared her throat and prepared for whatever was going to come after she had said this thing "I was asked by Professor McGonaall to tutor Regulus Black in the subject of Ancient Runes."

Their eyes and mouth now opened wide with surprise "What did you just say?" Sirius reprimanded, "Tutor who?"

"Regulus Black." Cynthia repeated, her voice not wavering anymore

"Cynthia, do you know what you are talking about?" James asked

"Yes, I do, James. I will be tutoring Regulus Black, twice a week till he gets better at Ancient Runes, which is needed for his OWLs exams"

"But he's -"

"Your brother, I know." Cynthia cut in before Sirius could say anything further, as she knew she wouldn't like what he was going to say next.

But the man didn't back down "I meant to say that he is a Slytherin!" he shouted "He – They are evil, you know that!"

"Yes, I do." Cynthia answered calmly

"Then why!?"

"I know a lot more about your brother that you, Sirius." she looked straight at him. Her eyes showed superiority just like what Dumbledore usually had when he gave orders. The older boy stiffened, unable to say anything. "I don't know about other Slytherins" I looked at Lily apologetically, it was true that most Slytherins disliked muggle-borns, she would have been treated the same if her grandfather didn't take her in "But I know Regulus isn't like that." Cynthia looked back at Sirius, and before he could retord back, she continued "When was the last time you looked at Regulus properly, Sirius? Did you notice the sadness he had in his eyes when he was sorted into Slytherin or did you look away the moment the Thinking Hat declared him a Slytherin?"

"What sadness?" Sirius astonishment was now turning into bursts of anger "What do you know about him when he is at home? What do you know about our relationship? What do you know about his cowardice!?"

"No, I don't" Cynthia admitted firmly "And that is why I'm going to do my best finding it out, finding out what he thinks, finding what he wants, finding his true self -"

"You don't know how dangerous he is!" Sirius interrupted

"- even if it is the last thing I do." Cynthia finished, stunning everyone in the room

"Wha – Why would you go so far for him?" Remus finally asked

"This discussion is over." Cynthia said and gathered her things "I don't know what he is like at home, but I do know how he is like at school, Sirius. It is great that you guys have each other, good friends who would stand up for you whenever you are in trouble, who would listen to your worries, who would stay beside you in times of need." She looked sadly at the group "He isn't blessed with these things, Sirius." and made her way up the stairs and plumped onto the bed. She knew they would react like that, but she didn't think that listening to people talking bad about him directly would hurt so much.

A few minutes later Lily also came back to the dorm room "You've made the boys quite speechless, Cynthia" she smiled "and they are known for not ever shutting up."

"Lily…"

"I guess it was my fault to have pushed the answer out of you like that just now."

"No... it's fine, I would have had to tell you guys sooner or later anyway, I just didn't think it would be this soon…"

She smiled "But if you still want to talk about it, I'm all ears."

"You really want to know?"

"Of course!"

"It's not an overly interesting one."

"Come on now, don't you dare back down on me!"

Cynthia smiled at all the memory that seemed to have happened just yesterday "Do you remember my first morning at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be able to ever forget it in my life. I knocked my elbow into your forehead, didn't I? You cried afterwards making me wonder if I really hit you that hard… You made me feel so guilty…"

"Yes, but I told you it wasn't your fault, didn't I? And it was only a few drops, not that much!"

"You did, but you didn't tell me the real reason, so I thought that you were just being polite. So what was it?" Lily pouted

Cynthia smiled, Lily could be so childish sometimes "It was actually this." she took out a piece of paper from her drawers and showed it to Lily

"You owe me no gratitude. Don't ever talk to me again. R.A.B" Lily read out loud

"This was the answer he sent back to me. He was the first person that I have met on the Hogwarts Express, he helped me from falling in to the lake during the boat trip" Cynthia's face got a bit pink "and I thought I should at least send a letter to thank him, but I really didn't expect this answer."

"Cynthia…"

"Come on, Lily" Cynthia laughed a bit "Don't get emotional now, this is only the beginning."

"Well, I didn't expect such a depressing beginning! Don't leave me hanging now, go on!"

"After that, he really never talked to me again, but for me, his actions were enough."

* * *

**~ 1st year – Potions class ~**

Having an immense amount of curiosity for the magical world, Cynthia had started reading her textbooks very early. However, despite being a smart girl, she still had a hard time doing practical experiments during class. Dealing with ingredients was so much different from what she had read and she was currently wondering how should she deal with the mistletoe berries for the Forgetfulness potion. She had been standing there for some time, too shy to ask the Professor and to distract her friends from what they were doing.

Suddenly, somebody from 2 tables next to her raised their hands as Professor Slughorn came closer. "Professor, the mistletoe berries should have been crushed into medium-fine powder right?"

Cynthia turned to see that it was Regulus, talking louder that he should or usually did.

"That is very right, Mr. Black, after which 2 pinches of the mixture should have been added into the cauldron." he added

Overhearing the conversation, Cynthia proceeded with her work, but not before hearing Professor Slughorn say "I see you have done a marvelous job, Mr. Black. I see there was no need for you to ask me this."

"Yes, Professor, I was just making sure I was right" Regulus lowered his volume significantly, but Cynthia didn't miss it. Somewhere in her heart, she had hoped that he did it for her.

* * *

**~ 2nd year – Library ~**

Cynthia was now wandering around the Transfiguration corner of the library trying to find the 'Transfiguration: elementary' book for her assignment on the Badgering spell. The librarian recommended the book to her and she had said that nobody had checked the book out, so it must still be on the shelves. That was… unless anybody was reading it in the library right now. She had been looking for it for at least half an hour, but still no sight of it. Somebody must be reading it at the moment after all. Knowing that she still had another week to finish the assignment, Cynthia decided to take down some other Transfiguration books for reading, maybe she would find something about the Badgering spell in there as well. Bringing the stack of books back to the reading table, she noticed another book lying on her notes. She picked it up to see that it was the 'Transfiguration: elementary' book. She looked around hoping to catch the sight of the person who put this book here.

"Excuse me" Cynthia called the person sitting quite close to her place "Did you see the person who placed this book over there?"

"I didn't really pay attention, so I didn't see his face, but I think he was from Slytherin, the emblem and all" the Ravenclaw girl answered

"Thank you very much" Cynthia smiled at the girl's answer. Just that much would have told her that person was no one else but Regulus Black.

* * *

**~ 4th year – Herbology class ~**

Lesson had just ended and the students hurriedly gathered their belongings for the next class to come in

"Cynthia" One of the classmates – Lora called "I saw this letter over there, it's addressed to you."

"Oh, thanks." Cynthia said accepting the letter

"The sender put a sealing charm on it even." she giggled "Maybe it's a love letter."

"No way." Cynthia waved "Who would ever send something like that to me."

"You've got to be kidding me Cynthia Glinnis Dumbledore! You ask me who would ever send a love letter to you!? A person could actually swim in your letters if not for those Mara-" she coughed, realizing that she might have said something she shouldn't have "Anyway, open up and see for yourself."

Cynthia opened the letter to be graced by extremely familiar handwriting.

"Do not go back through the Main Hall today" it read

"Huh?" Lora questioned, "What kind of prank is this?"

Cynthia folded the letter carefully, placing it inside her bag "I told you no one would ever send something like a love letter to me."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say..." she waved her hand in defeat "So what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it told you not to go back through the Main Hall right? So are you going to follow it?"

"I guess I will. The person had went through all the trouble of sending the letter to me after all." especially when it was something Regulus has told her to do

"Maybe it's just a prank, but I'll leave you to it then. I have Arithmacy now, see you later." she waved and took off

That evening in the Griffindor's common room, news about some Slytherins casting snails summoning charms on passing by Griffindors spread out like a wave. The Slytherins were immediately sent to the Head Master's office, had their points deducted and a month of detention with Professor Slughorn.

"So that letter was a warning after all!?" Lora asked in astonishment "You have any idea who was it?"

Cynthia shook her head "No, maybe it was just a coincidence."

"Heh~ so our Cynthia has a secret admirer now. You're just getting more and more popular huh?" Lora pocked Cynthia's arm "Give me some of it too."

"If he really was my admirer, then I would have hoped he would come to the light rather than staying in the dark like that." Cynthia smiled, thinking how good it would be if someday Regulus would really let her come into his world.

* * *

"And countless other times, when he would warn me about pranks through anonymous letters, preventing me from falling down the stairs when I read while walking or just because I'm too clumsy" Cynthia smiled "I know he is a good person. I think he is avoiding me because he doesn't want his friends or family shifts their attention to me. In a way, he is protecting me from them. I know how he is. But I just hoped that he would let me do something for him."

"Do you like him, Cynthia?" Lily asked kindly

Cynthia blushed, but nodded slightly "Yes."

"Then I wish you all the best." Lily hugged the younger girl "We all, me and those boys, care about you a lot. You are like a sister to us. Sirius care a lot about you too." not in the brother-sister way but in a male-female way was what she wanted to add, but refrained from doing so. It was his punishment for making Cynthia sad just now, she would definitely not help him in his quest. "It's just he thinks that his brother is keen on becoming a death eater, he is afraid of you getting hurt."

"I know, Lily, but I will definitely bring out Regulus' good side so that everyone can understand him more."

"I know you can do it. But be careful alright? If anything happens, don't hesitate to tell me."

"Of course, Lily, thanks for listening, I'll have to write to Melody now"

"Alright, talk to you later then"

Talking about the past had made Cynthia's heart filled with joy again. She really couldn't wait for this Friday to come when the two of them will have their first tutoring session together.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 4: The start

I have no real excuse for my tardiness, except for the fact that I was to lazy to type on the computer. And I haven't had much motivation these days... Anyway, my problems aside, sorry for the long wait.

Enjoy~

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**Chapter 4: Even just this once**

The day Cynthia was waiting for finally came. She hadn't seen anyone from the Marauder's club since that day. It seemed as if they were avoiding her, maybe their anger had yet to subdue. But Cynthia had decided on this, telling herself that it would be alright, everything would be fine when they get to know Regulus' true feelings. But this felt lonely indeed. They used to laugh and talk around her every day, but now she didn't even know where they were anymore.

She briefly wondered if they would still let her help Remus during his transformations. Cynthia had noticed Remus' health cycle since third year and through many medical books provided to her by the library and her Grandfather as well as suggested by Mrs. Pomfrey. All the symptoms that Remus had, was that of a werewolf. The Marauders were very surprised when Cynthia had told them about her discovery and had begged them to let her help too. But they strongly disagreed, especially Remus himself, as he was afraid of hurting her. They had finally agreed to let her help during the pre and post transformation stages to help him lessen the pain and heal his injuries, when her Grandfather finally dropped in some lines for her. But Remus was very happy to know that Cynthia didn't fear him for who he was. For Cynthia, Remus was the most reasonable one in the Marauders' club, the one who helped her with many of the assignments. James spoiled her like a little sister, always saying he had always wished for a cute little sister like her. Sirius… Sirius was always weird on his own terms, always teased her, made fun of how clumsy she was, but his smile was infective for sure, it would cheer her up no matter the situation. She really had missed them all.

Just that moment, she yelped in surprise as a hand grabbed her shoulder "Calm down, Cynthia, it's me." it was Sirius "Are you going to tutor him?" he asked trying to hold back his anger so not to frighten her.

"Yes."

"Look, I know that you have decided on this and there seems no way that we could stop you from doing so," he said and she nodded "But please be careful, we don't want you getting hurt, you know that."

"Yes I do, Sirius." she placed her hand on his to reassure him "I will definitely tell you if something happens, Sirius. I'll be careful. Please tell James and Remus that for me too."

"Yeah… Alright then…" he mumbled, still not wanting to let her go, but he knew he hadn't got a choice.

Arriving at the Transfiguration room, Cynthia saw that Regulus was already sitting there waiting for her. She immediately ran to his side "I'm sorry I was late." she said flushing from embarrassment. Way to make him wait on the first tutoring session.

"Let's just start." he said coldly, not looking at her.

"S-Sure." she placed her things down and pulled out her notes. The ancient Runes subject was mostly about learning the runic scriptures by heart so that a person could read ancient scripts or book for research purposes. However, as the ancient scripts usually have seals over them, the class also practices many spells that would be necessary to unlock the runes. These spells are complicated and require the right pronunciation, right timing, right trajectory of wand movements and sometimes, even the voice of the spell caster was important. As there were two tutoring sessions each week, the two of them had decided that this lesson would focus on theoretical aspects, while the second one would be about practice.

Two hours of tutoring session went by, but no other conversation had been established. It was mostly Cynthia doing all the talking and explaining, while Regulus just silently nodded with an occasional 'alright' or 'yes'. The truth was that all what Cynthia had thought she would say to him had been washed away just at the sight of him. She remembered the first they met, his cold and superior aura had intensified thanks to the loss of any baby fat that was present on his face four years ago. Shyness crept up and she just couldn't bring herself to say anything. Maybe mental preparation was something she needed to practice from now on.

However, saying things were definitely easier than done. Two months passed by in a blink of an eye, but she had yet to be able to start a normal conversation with him. Whenever she asked something aside from Ancient ruins subject, he would usually shrug it off or just ignore her. She was even unable to get him to tell her about what occupation he was aiming for when he decided to change his OWLs... She guessed from the subject, his personality and intellect - it could be the Unspeakable, but she couldn't be too sure. Sometimes she even wonders if she knew about him at all... But Cynthia couldn't let such negative thoughts pull her down!

Her relationship with the Marauders had turn back to normal long ago and things had turned back to their usual courses with: James showering her with whatever good food he got his hands on, Sirius teasing her at all openings, Remus helping her with any studies questions and she helped all of them on Remus' furry little problem. Lily kept reminding her of having to tell her if anything was happening between her and Regulus. Cynthia would have loved to tell her, she herself hoped for something to happen between her and Regulus, but nothing seems to be working.

It was March now, in other words, the long awaited Slytherin vs Ravenclaw Quidditch game had finally came. Quidditch was never Cynthia's thing, she only went to the matches that had Griffindor playing to cheer for James and Sirius, or Slytherin, for the obvious reasons. She actually always had to wonder days before the Griffindoor vs Slytherin matches about who should she cheer for. But today, she could put all her heart in for Regulus.

The two teams lined up for a bow and got in their brooms at the sound of Professor Rolanda's whistle. The beaters and chasers started to move, the keeper stood on his grounds guarding the goal and the seeker was looking out for the bludger and keeping their eyes out for the snitch.

Twenty minutes into the game, the snitch has finally been spotted. Immediately, Regulus chased after it, gaining significant advantage over Ravenclaw's seeker, who had only made his move right about now. Being one of the best students in the Charm class, Regulus had enhanced his broom to the points of perfection. Not only it was fast, it had wind resistance and motion control. But what was most amazing was Regulus flying skills. He made sharp turns without having to break his current speed. He made his way through everybody else on the field skillfully, and it seemed as if in just a matter of a dozen seconds when his hands were just inches away from the snitch.

Cynthia's heart was beating so fast now. No matter how many times she saw him flying, she would be so fascinated, so amazed by it, she would just fall in love with him again and again. However, her heart dropped at the sight of the bludger flying right towards him

"Regulus! Behind you!" she shouted, standing up, but it was already too late.

The bludger had hit Regulus' left shoulder, knocking him down from his broom. Landing on the sand, Regulus held in the pain spreading from his left shoulder, stood up and showed the caught golden snitch in his hand.

"YES! The Slytherin's seeker - Regulus Black has caught the snitch, bringing 150 points to the team. This match is the Slytherin's victory!" the commentator declared.

Professor Rolanda's whistle rang up, marking the end of the match. The Slytherins flooded down the stadium to congratulate the team. However, Regulus was nowhere to be found.

Running towards Slytherin's waiting room, Cynthia spotted Regulus walking back there, right hand holding his left shoulder. "Regulus!" she called as he halted for a second before walking away again "Regulus!" she called again, running closer to him this time.

He finally stopped and just turning his head lightly, said "What is it?" coldly

"Um..." the words stuck in her throat, but she forced them out "First, congratulation on catching the Snitch" hurriedly, and before he could answer, she continued "And will you let me check your shoulder, I think it was probably broken or at least sprained"

"None of your business." he said, starting to walk away, but she grabbed his robes lightly to get his attention, but not enough to affect his shoulder. He turned around, ready to tell her to let him go, but one sight of how Cynthia was like right now had shut him up for good. She was clinging on his robes, face looking up, tears twinkling in her eyes "Please..." she whispered "Even just this once, let me help you..."

Cynthia was very shocked at the sight of Regulus pulling his shirt over his shoulders and carefully laying it on the small chair, on which he also sat down. It was certainly something she had told him to do, and she must say she had seen Remus nude many times during his treatments. But seeing Regulus was definitely something else. The normal black robes had totally hid away all his toned muscles and trained body. It wasn't as if Remus wasn't toned or anything, but… ahem, it was just different, now let's get to business before Regulus suspected anything.

Starting from the bruise that was forming on the back side of his shoulder, Cynthia started the examination. "The bruise is on the subscapular muscle" she mumbled, seeming to have turned into a totally different person. "The scapula was damaged quite a bit, not broken, but many cracks. Humerus is a bit dislocated. Nerves are fine." she finally finished her diagnosis and pulled out her wand. "First, the cracks and dislocation" she said and placed the wand on his shoulder "Brackium Emendo" she muttered the spell, moving the wand along his shoulder "Next is the bruise – Episkey rennero" the spells were casted and she used her hands to examine his shoulders again and sighed in relief. "Everything is back to normal now, but just to be safe, please do not put too much pressure on it for today."

Regulus did a few light rotations with his shoulder before muttering a quiet "Thanks, Cynthia", but it was enough for her just to hear the sound of her name coming from his lips.

However, what the both of them didn't realize was the danger approaching them from the corridor. Loud sounds of cheering and footsteps finally reached Regulus' ears as he took off to the doors to see who was coming. It was the Slytherin's Quidditch team coming back from the fields. He immediately rushed too Cynthia's side saying "You have to get out of here!" being a Griffindor girl, she must not be found in the Slytherin's male changing room of all things. But there was no other way out other than the hallway. No fireplace, no windows and they only get to learn Apparition at the age of seventeen! The only way left was to -

BAM!

"Regulus, are you in here?" a voice asked

"He's not?"

"Nah, must have gone back already."

"He caught the snitch and all, didn't even stay behind to celebrate."

"Leave him. He must be tired today. We'll just celebrate more in the common room later."

The team members got on with their changing, still continuing to chat away about today's match, not realizing, that the two people, who were just in this room a few seconds ago, were now only a few millimeters way from each other… inside Regulus' locker.

Cynthia was not a small girl. She reached Regulus' chin at least and thanks to this, she could feel his breath on top of her head, while hers grazed his neck every time she breathed in or out. Cynthia's heart was beating really fast now, she tried her best to look anywhere but at him, to back away, blend into the wall or something, but nothing seems to be working. Regulus on the other hand was trying his best to push away from her, while still keeping the locker door closed. This was definitely not one of the best ideas. At least, his coming in here with her wasn't. Although calm on the outside, the same word could not be used to describe what was happening to him on the inside. His heart was beating fast, his body was pushing him to lose control, while his head just desperately had to think of something else rather than the one girl, who was trapped between him and the wall, his two hand on the either side of her, her face was red, her heart was beating fast at how aware she was about him. He just wished his friends would just finish whatever they were doing already and leave the room before he did something he would regret forever, destroying what he was trying to protect all this time.

Finally, after Merlin knows how long, Regulus' friends finally finished cleaning up and left the changing room. After making sure that everyone had left the room, the two of them had finally got their release. The air outside felt so cool compared to the one in the locker, but it also felt so… missing.

Looking back at Regulus, Cynthia suppressed her blush and said "I'll see you next Tuesday!" and ran off from the room.

Alone in the room, Regulus just had to suppress his shout and punched the table instead, braking it in half, his knuckles bruised and bled from the impact. The pain, however, brought him back to reality. He just had to control himself. Just 2 more years, but she just had to make it so hard for him. It was too hard to resist her. And most importantly, he knew he didn't have the heart to deny her. He knew so, just as much as he knew he had to. It was too late to regret his choices.

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	6. Chapter 5: Keep on trying

**Merry Christmas guys!** It has been a long time since I have updated XD This is my present to you ~~~

My Christmas this year is filled with love for Regulus as I just bought his scarf and his sweater and maybe the robes next year XD

Good news that I have graduated and got a new job, but bad news is that I have less time and motivation to write stories and retype them on the computer :V

But at any rate, for those who might be reading this fic and my Hunter x Hunter fic, I will try to update it after the New years... because I also have a cosplay contest coming right after the new year, so I haven's any time... So please be patient ;_;

Ah, 1 more thing. **Caliwavesxx** (Guest) has asked a very interesting question about Cynthia's origins and her biological family. I have actually dropped some hints here and there about her origins, I wonder if you guys can find and guess it? Don't be shy and share your ideas~~~

And then lastly, many of my dear readers seem to like Regulus' POV in the previous chapter. I like it too, I was having a nosebleed when I wrote the previous chapter actually XDDDDD (I still have it whenever I read it again). So I guess my decision to write this more adult rated with inner feelings and conflicts under the 3rd POV (outsider's, author's POV) was the right decision. I'm still a very beginner writer, so this is a great lesson for me. Thank you!

Enough of my ramblings.

Please enjoy~~~~

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**Chapter 5: Keep on trying**

Running back to her own room, Cynthia's heated face didn't go unnoticed by Lily. Thousands of questions were thrown at Cynthia, which she was happy, but at the same time very embarrassed to answer.

"He was still so composed though." Cynthia said "I really don't think anything has changed. He might go back to normal tomorrow."

"Don't be so silly Cynthia!" Lily retorted "You may be very observant, but today is different! You said you weren't even able to look at him! He must have been flustered too! I'm sure about it!"

"I hope so too, Lily." Cynthia blushed again

"Yes! Let's be positive!"

But Tuesday came with just what Cynthia had imagined. A stoic, cool and cold Regulus walked into the Transfiguration classroom with his Ancient Runes book and notes. There wasn't even a hint of change in him.

"How is your shoulder, Regulus?" Cynthia asked

"It's alright now." he answered simply

Yes… Along with Regulus' shoulder, everything has gone back to normal now.

Feeling sad about Regulus, Cynthia didn't pay attention to where she was going and almost fell down the stairs, if it was not for somebody pulling her back "Really, how many times do you intend to fall down the stairs before you will remember to pay attention while walking?" the person asked

Cynthia immediately turned back to see who it was "S-Sirius?" definitely wasn't who she was expecting.

"Yes? Who else could I be?" he said awkwardly before noticing a glint of sadness in her eyes "What's wrong?"

"I-It's nothing." she choked out "I was just surprised to see you here."

"Did he do something to you?" Sirius was definitely angry now "Wait here! I'll -"

"No!" Cynthia pulled him back "He didn't do anything!"

"Then why are you so sad?!"

"I'm not sad; I was just - pondering on things!"

"What things then?"

"On my… Potion's homework. I haven't done a single thing on it." she finished lamely as Sirius made a face that said 'I don't freaking believe you. It had to be his fault'. But Cynthia continued "I promised that I would tell you if Regulus ever did something bad to me, didn't I? Do you not believe me?"

"It's not like that, but -"

"No buts, besides, it's late now, let's go back to the dorms, so that I can start on my assignment." She said and led the way, leaving no room for argument from Sirius.

Cynthia actually didn't have much time to ponder on her feelings, as a wave of homework and assignments and upcoming end of term tests took over her timetable. This, however, helped Cynthia create conversations with the unusually cold and stoic Regulus.

"Regulus." she called nervously "If it doesn't bother you, can you help me with the Potion's assignment? I just can't get the correct color for Draught of Peace potion no matter how many times I try it."

Regulus thought for a while and answered "Alright. I also have to complete that assignment anyway."

Cynthia smiled brightly "Thank you, Regulus."

Although it was a small step, it was a step forward for their relationship.

And so time passed and it was now the 18th of April, definitely a significant day for Cynthia. Today was Regulus Black's birthday. This information has reached Cynthia's ears since the third year, but whenever she sent Leonis to deliver the presents to Regulus, he would just send it back with the full package. But this year was different, Cynthia was sure of it. She had woken up early in the morning to go down the kitchen area, where she had asked the house-elves to let her borrow the kitchen for that morning. Pumpkin seemed to be Regulus' favorite dish, and since the season was spring, Cynthia had to ask Melody to actually grow it for her. Although it was quite hard, Melody certainly didn't disappoint the young girl with her perfect work.

The first thing she had to do was to make Pumpkin puree. Cynthia was so very grateful that Melody had taught her many spells for cooking: from charming the spoons and whisks, to even enchanting the ovens to shorten cooking time. Just in about 3 hours, there were various types of pumpkin and other pastries on the table: pumpkin pudding, baked brie bites, pumpkin choux cream, moon lemon cake and wizard hat pastries made with chocolate. After packing everything inside a box, Cynthia left for classes, leaving the box in the kitchen so that she could summon it with Accio later.

Cynthia was so glad that Regulus' birthday this year fell on the day of their tutoring session. Throughout the classes, she could not prevent the smile from spreading through her face. She just really hoped that he would accept and try out the pastries she made for him with all her heart.

Walking to the Transfiguration classroom, Cynthia noticed that Regulus was already sitting there waiting for her. Her heart almost leaped out of her chest not just from happiness of him not avoiding this tutoring session, but also from fear of rejection. But thinking back, Cynthia had realized that she had never been accepted to be rejected. She had nothing to lose, but maybe everything to gain. Regaining her bravery, she walked into the room.

"Good afternoon, Regulus." she said casually and he acknowledged with a single nod, but his eyes were avoiding contact. "Before we start the session today, I have something for you." he looked up at this and saw that Cynthia took out her wand and muttered "Accio: pastry box." and a black and red box appeared in front of her. Placing the box before him, she opened it, revealing all kinds of pastries, glittering and smelling great "Happy 16th Birthday, Regulus!" she said with a bright smile.

Regulus knew that he should have called off the tutoring session today. He knew he couldn't refuse when she looked at him like that. All these years, he had sent her owl back without even touching her presents. The owl was really persistent by the way. He knew how much it wounded her, but as long as he didn't have to witness it, it would have been alright, he could still manage this quest. But this year was different. All these days, all the time that he had spent with her felt so right, so true, so close he just wanted to grab onto it and never let go. His desire to see her smiling face had totally dominated his reason, making him make the decision of going to the tutoring today. Regulus picked up a choux cream first and brought it to his mouth. Just from one bite, the fluffy and moist cream filled his senses. After some chewing and swallowing, he muttered a quiet "Delicious." unconsciously, but the corners of his mouth were tugged up just for a few millimeters.

That small change in Regulus' facial expression had brought a smile to Cynthia "I'm glad that you like them." she said almost tearing up from happiness

"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked simply

"N-No! I mean- I made these for you" she stumbled from his sudden feedback

"You can't expect me to finish these all alone." he chuckled a bit.

Surprise passed through Cynthia at the realization of what Regulus had just said or expressed. He might have just joked or smiled unconsciously, but it was a great change in his whole demeanor. Cynthia smiled and sat down to eat with him. She was right to have made lots of pastries after all. Or should I say, the closes way to a man's heart is through his stomach~~~ Just joking.

It was later than usual when Cynthia and Regulus had finished their lesson. Although desperately wanting to walk Cynthia back to her dorms, Regulus gripped his fist and bit his lips tightly down, as he knew he had to hold himself back.

"See you this Thursday." she said and skipped away in happiness

Regulus couldn't help and let out a small smile at her happy figure. He could never let her know this though. _'I have to lock these feelings away.'_ – was what he kept telling himself. Walking back to his own dorms, Regulus just kept thinking about how Cynthia could fall down again anytime if she kept skipping on her feet like that. The other day too, if it wasn't for Sirius then she would have… Not being able to calm himself down, Regulus decided to turn back and follow behind her until she reaches her dorms after all.

In the meantime, Cynthia was indeed skipping her way through the hallways. It was quite late, almost all the students have returned to their on dorms by now and thus, Cynthia didn't expect to bump into the two infamous Slytherins – Lestrade and Rosier, when she had just made a turn to the right.

"Where do you think you're going, woman!?" Lestrade leered

"I'm sorry!" Cynthia said almost immediately "I didn't pay attention to where I was going"

"Obviously! You think a sorry is enough?" he said and pulled out his wand

Shocked, Cynthia did the same, and started to create some distance between them.

"Wait, Lestrade, she's Headmaster Dumbledore's granddaughter!" Rosie whispered loudly.

"Does it even matter? She's adopted! A mudblood! What are you afraid of!?" he said and shouted "Stupefy!"

"Protego!" Cynthia chanted, creating a shield to protect her from the opponent's spell "Please stop! I don't want to fight you!"

"If you are afraid then just say so." Lestrade laughed "Reductio" he shouted, destroying the pillar behind Cynthia.

"Depulso" she said, deflecting the rocks to another direction

"You're full of openings!" he mocked, but didn't realize that Cynthia already have her wand pointed at him and shouted "Expeliarmus!" effectively knocking Lestrade's wand away. But just that moment, Rosie decided to step into the fight "Baubillious!" he shouted creating a bolt of white light from the tip of his wand, knocking Cynthia to the opposite wall.

Cynthia coughed out some blood from the impact. She knew that her inner organs had been damaged quite a bit by that direct attack and she was gradually losing her consciousness.

"Cynthia!" was the last shout that she heard before she closed her eyes. The shout had such an unusual alarming tone to it, but it was definitely from the one she loved the most – Regulus Black.

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	7. Chapter 6: The chains

Hiya~~~ Ladies and Gents ~~~ Are you ready for the new chapter?

Though I really doubt there are any gents reading this fiction of mine, but not to discriminate anyone here.

International women's day is coming soon and I was able to finish this *will totally blow your mind* update chapter of this fic

Ahhhh, I love Regulus too much for my own good...

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**Chapter 6: The chains**

"Shouldn't she be awake now?" Cynthia vaguely heard someone talking

"Regulus?" she choked out the first thing that came to her mind. Opening her eyes, see saw that it was Remus, James, Sirius and finally Lily crowding around her bed, checking if she was really fine "You guys shouldn't be crowding in the hospital wing like this, you know?" she chuckled weakly at all the attention they were giving her.

The groups' facial expression turned into a smile at her interaction when a kind older voice came from behind "It's good to see that you can still joke in this situation." James moved out a bit to make way for Dumbledore.

"I'm alright, Grandfather. My inner organs were damaged a bit, but I don't think I was out for any more than a day."

"No, you certainly weren't -" he agreed

"But it is not something so trivial that you can be so casual about it, young lady!" Madam Pomfrey cut him off "If Mr. Black hadn't brought you in here on time, you could have had inner bleeding and blood loss! You'd better behave while I'll go get your medicine." And she left

"You saved me, Sirius?" Cynthia asked in surprise

"No, it was my brother." Sirius answered bitterly, angry that it really wasn't him. That he wasn't there when she needed. But at the same time, jealousy dominated his reason "Sorry he's not here to greet you, seeing as how his name was the first thing you said after having just woken up."

"I-I didn't -" Cynthia muttered, shocked and not understanding why Sirius spoke in such a hurtful voice.

"Sirius!" Lily wacked his shoulder "Cynthia has just woken up. Don't you dare use that kind of voice while talking to her."

"That's right. We must be grateful that he was there on time to save her." Remus said, noticing a small smile of relief on Cynthia's face. She was very grateful that Remus actually stood up for Regulus in this situation. He had always been a reasonable person.

"Not you too, Remus!" Sirius started bickering. Once a man starts, he cannot stop.

"Sirius, you should really quiet down, or else we won't be able to stay -" James couldn't finish what he wanted to say before Madam Pomfrey came back and forced every single one of them out of the hospital wing. Dumbledore was of course free to stay behind.

"You will have to spend another night here and then you are free to go, as I know you will be able to take care of yourself." she said after giving Cynthia some medicine to drink "I trust that if you go back now, those friends of yours would never leave you to rest, which is exactly the thing you need right now."

"I understand, Madam Pomfrey, please don't worry." Cynthia smile, understanding what the older woman was talking about.

"Alright, I'll leave you to the Headmaster now. But please make it quick Albus, the medicine will kick in and put her to sleep very soon."

Dumbledore nodded and turned to Cynthia "I know what you are going to ask, so I'll just go straight to it. Both of them were not expelled, as I know you will oppose of that idea and ask for mercy for them, but punished greatly by me and currently Professor Slughorn is dealing with them as well."

Cynthia smiled "Thank you, Grandfather."

"I have also used the pensieve to look at exactly what had happed. You are now more in control of you powers and your aiming is definitely one of the best," Dumbledore said as saw his granddaughter smile happily at the compliment "Definitely better than the time when your powers went havoc every time you panicked or were scared." He chuckled "However Cynthia, I know that you do not want to hurt others, but in the situation, where you have been challenged like such, you shouldn't just use defensive spells. You should also use immobilization or stunning spells at least. Not hurting others doesn't mean letting them hurt you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Grandfather." Cynthia looked down at the cup of water she was holding, fiddling with it, unable to look into her Grandfather's eyes. She knew her grandfather was right. Wasn't he always? But she didn't have the resolution to direct an offensive spell at another human being just yet.

"That would be enough for today." Dumbledore stood up and took away the cup from her hands. Laying her down, he pulled the cover up for her patted her shoulder affectionately "Sleep well, Cynthia."

"Thank you, Grandfather. See you tomorrow." She let out a small yawn and fell asleep.

It was past midnight when Cynthia opened her eyes. The stars were shining brightly through the hospital wing's windows and Cynthia wondered briefly as to why had she woken up at this time of the day. Looking around the room, her eyes landed on a bundle lying on the hospital bed table. Taking her wand and whispering "Lumos", she realized that the bundle was actually a bouquet of Coldwater lavender roses. Picking it up, she brought them closer, smelling the familiar faint scent of the flowers. These cold water roses had become her favorite since she has learnt about the meaning that they represented: love at first sight, the purity and enchantment of first love. They represented exactly what she felt about Regulus and what she was still feeling for him at the moment. Hear heart leaped at every sight of him. She felt enchanted every time that he smiled. She remembered the first time he said her name and his first smile towards he just yesterday.

"Who's there?" Cynthia asked as she heard the sounds of metal clanging as the meet the marble floor. But no one answered. After a few seconds, she said quietly "Regulus?"

Regulus' heart throbbed from hearing his mane coming out of her lips. He tried to calm down, thinking that she was just guessing, there was no way she could have known that it was him. He was careless. He should have returned to his dorms immediately after seeing her alright and putting the flowers on the table. However…

"Regulus?" Cynthia repeated "If it is really you, then please come out." she pleaded

Before his head could reason with himself, his feet had already moved, carrying him out of the darkness. The first thing he saw was how glad Cynthia was to see that it was really him. How could she not notice how miserable her smile made him feel? He was struggling so much to prevent himself from showing his emotions, but she just had to ruin it all.

"Thank you for visiting, Regulus" she said as he nodded "Madam Pomfrey told me that it was you who brought me here. Thank you. For saving me." Another nod. Regulus was refraining himself from talking to her. If he said anything back right now, his voice will surely betray him, leading him to his doom.

Cynthia was now feeling very awkward about his lack of conversation. She was really hoping he would open up and talk to her just like he did on his birthday. Or was all that just a dream? Was it just something her mind had made up during her coma? She wasn't even sure anymore. Tears started to fill her eyes again.

Regulus turned away. His fists were clenched so tightly, it started to bleed in places where nails dug into his skin. "You should rest." He choked out and lifted his iron weight feet to leave.

"Regulus!" she called, catching the hem of his robes just in time "I love you!" she said and it too him a few seconds to register her sudden confession. "Even if you hate me or ignore me, I would never give up!" Yes, she loved him too much to give in to rejection.

Hate? When did he ever say that he hated her? He hated her for making him feel so loved. He hated her for breaking his resolution. He hated her for always smiling at him so brightly. And even so, hate was definitely not a word he would use to describe what he felt towards her all these years. Her words were like million arrows piercing his heart all at once, but at the same time, it felt like a kind ray of light that shone on him, melting his icy heart.

That was when Regulus finally made his decision. Turning around, he pushed her down on bed and captured her lips with his. He took a hold of her hands and interlocked his finders between hers. He knew he had to had to hold back as she was still injured and all, but he was an official lost cause thanks to soft moans of his name from her. Taking the opportunity, he slid his tongue inside, exploring her small cavern.

Cynthia was so surprised at what Regulus was doing that she didn't know how to respond. This was the first time anything like this had happened to her. But with Regulus, it felt so right. She tightened her fingers' grip a bit and also started kissing him back, moving her tongue along with his. However, her movements were so shy and unsure of herself that Regulus couldn't hold back a small chuckle. He knew he was her first and it pleased him to no end.

Although he had yet to have enough, be broke the kiss so Cynthia could regain her breath. The look she had on right now was arousing to say the least. Her long black hair spread on the white sheet, her cheeks a bit pink, visible only thanks to the bright stars and moon outside, her lips were parted and another mutter of his name from her lips had sealed his fate forever.

"I love you." he said, knowing there was no escape for him this time "I love you more than anything else in the whole world." he said, showing his sincere emotions by yet another soft kiss on her lips. "I would have stopped at nothing to protect you from all the danger you could have been involved into because of me or not. Even if it meant ignoring you, hurting you… However, I don't think I can do it anymore. I want you so much…" He rested his forehead on hers.

"Then please don't hold back." she cupped his face with her hands "Please don't ignore me, please let me into your world, please let me be there for you. I love you too, Regulus."

Regulus' lips found hers again. All the chains that had bound him all these years seemed to have been released all at once. She moaned into his mouth as he applied more pressure, deepening the kiss with his tongue. Never once did he know that life could feel this good. He was never letting her go again.

**~ Afternoon of the next day~**

Cynthia was now standing in front of the Trasfiguration classroom. She was afraid. Afraid of opening the door in front of her. What if it was just a dream? What if the Regulus behind these doors is the normal, emotionless Regulus? What proof did she have that yesterday was real? The bouquet, yes. The Coldwater lavender roses were the only proof she had for yesterday's night. Regaining her composure, Cynthia placed her hands on the door handle. However, she couldn't gather her strength to push the door open.

"What are you doing?" a cool and deep voice came from behind

"Eek!" Cynthia jumped from surprise, turning back to see that it was Regulus in all his cool glory "Re-Regulus!" she stumbled "Good to see you"

"What are you doing out here? Hurry up and go in."

Cynthia's heart fell and his cold voice, thinking that everything was just a dream after all "O-Okay…" she opened the door and walked inside and Regulus followed her, closing the door behind him. Cynthia kept her eyes down, not wanting to show him what she was feeling right now.

A light chuckle escaped Regulus lips, which gradually turned into a small laugh.

"E-eh?" Cynthia turned back

"You should definitely see yourself in a mirror right now." Regulus said in between his laugh

"E-eh? B-but!" Cynthia was really confused about what was happening right now.

Before she could say anything else, Regulus pulled her into his arms "I told you that I will never let go of you again, didn't I? That I love you? And I don't have any intention of taking back those words any time soon."

"Then…" Cynthia's hands moved to hug him back lightly "Yesterday was real?"

"Of course." He whispered in her ear.

"The… The kisses too?" she asked. Although embarrassing, she just had to confirm of her suspicions.

Regulus chuckled "If you still can't believe it, should I kiss you here again?"

"Wh-What? Th-That's -" Cynthia wriggled out of Regulus' arms without avail.

"I told you that I will not let go of you again and you know how persistent I can be about my decisions" he nibbed her ear softly "Not just kisses, but there are still so many things I want to do to you… to teach you…" He kissed her softly "So you'd better prepare yourself." He grinned mischievously, making Cynthia forget everything else in this world but him.

* * *

I nosebleeded a bit writing this chapter, I want to be pushed down too =)))

**Jenkt5: thank you for following**

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**I actually love Sirius very much too and I don't want to make him a totall bad person. He is my number 2 after Regulus, but number 2 is number 2, so I cannot make him too likable either, but some inner thoughts to express his feelings will be more than enough to make you unable to hate him, I guess. But this fic is RegulusxOCxSirius, so he'll have quite a bit of screen time =))**

**Yeah and about Lestrade vs Lestrange. Lestrade is actually an annoying officer in Sherlock Holmes stories, but I decided to use his name, because it sound similar to Lestrange, but it sound better. Because Lestrange just sounds... strange to me.**

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**So yeah, as you know about our beloved Dumbledore, no one can get into his head, not yet anyway. He is worried about her, but I wonder what else is brewing in his head?**

**I totally love the owl too! I spent days searching for a suitable owl, and I finally got this one =))**

**Yes, Regulus is in a tight place, literally and figuratively.**

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	8. Chapter 7: Realizations

Christmas is here guys~~~ And here is your Christmas present~~~

How are you celebrating Christmas this year. I was thinking of German style, with mulled wine, pretzels, bamkuchem... Ah, I'm drolling...

This chapter, you will get to know a little bit more about our beloved owl Leonis~~~ How I really want to have an owl like him ;_;

At any rate, enjoy~

Merry Christmas!

Santa! Please bring me Regulus that I can call all mine!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Realizations**

Time passed by and the year soon ended. OWLs exam time was already in sight, marking the end of their tutoring lessons, the only place they could meet and talk with each other with ease.

"So this is our last lesson already." Cynthia said a bit sad "But I'm sure you will pass your OWLs for the Unspeakable with flying colors."

"Yes, thanks to you, Cynthia." he picked her left hand and kissed it "In these four months of being with you, talking to you have changed me so much. I love you, nothing can ever change that fact." Cynthia blushed at his action "And I still have the responsibility to teach you all sort of things too." He chuckled as she shuttered, not knowing how to answer him. He laughed and leaned in to kiss her "I'll never get tired of your reactions. They are all so cute. I'll miss not being able to see them for some time. But I promise I'll come for you as soon as the exams are over."

It was late and Regulus didn't think twice about escorting Cynthia back to her dorms. They held hands and kissed softly for the final time before Regulus let Cynthia go through the portrait of the Fat Lady into her dorms. On his way back, he wasn't surprised when his older brother – Sirius Black appeared and demanded a talk. This was bound to happen sooner or later and sooner was definitely better and Regulus was prepared for it.

"What are your feelings towards her?" he asked straight to the point

"I love her." Simple, yet very comprehensive answer.

"Love?" Sirius mocked "Do you realize how ridiculous that word sounds coming from your mouth?"

"I could say the same thing about you though, Sirius." Regulus said

"What did you say?"

"I know you love her." Regulus stated, not even a bit intimidate by Sirius' attitude "The look you have in your eyes when you are with her is just the same as mine. Though, I am better at hiding it. However, you are afraid of rejection, so you don't dare to confess to her. You tease her to gain her attention, you go out with other girls to make her feel jealous, but without avail. But you love her so much, you can't help but follow her around. Stalking her sometimes, if I must add. You, James and others in your Marauder group are in charge of chasing all the guys who have laid their eyes on her away. Can't say I'm not grateful about that, and although we apply different methods, the realization of how similar we are really makes me laugh."

Sirius was not red with anger and embarrassment "So you think you are so perfect now? You are the perfect son, who listens to all the pure-blood shit, agrees with everything… The perfect Little King! And now you have her under your hypnosis too! You -"

Regulus sighed at this "Just listen to yourself, Sirius. You're just so quick to point your finger and I should have guessed that you would never understand nor see anything with those biased pair of eyes and ears. Do you know how jealous I felt towards you? To be able to walk beside her, talk to her, greet her every morning. The happiness I just had the chance to discover a month ago. But instead, I was stuck with being your replacement, a backup plan, because you had the courage to stand up for yourself. I cannot be like you!" Regulus looked straightly at Sirius, his eyes filled with bottled up emotions and sadness "I cannot be brave enough to throw everything, everyone I care about just to save myself. In fact, I would have never known that I had any once of bravery until Cynthia spelled it out for me!" he took a few deep breath, closing his eyes to calm himself "I love Cynthia with all my heart. However, just as I care for her, for you, I care about our parents too. It's true that I do not agree with what they tell us, but it is not their faults. They are teaching us, what they have been taught by our grandparents, grand grandparents and so on, generations through generations. Moreover, they are the ones that have given birth to me. Without them I would have never existed to know the colors of this world, to meet Cynthia, to know how love feels. I would have sacrificed everything that belongs to me, to protect what I hold dear from the Dark Lord and the dark teachings lurking from generations to generations inside the house of Black."

"I have never asked anything like that of you…" Sirius found nothing else to say after Regulus most heartfelt speech.

"I know." Regulus chuckled sadly "And although I do not regret my decisions, I don't think I can continue with it. I have experienced happiness and I cannot turn myself away from it now. And perhaps, I will find and alternative, a better way to protect those dear to me… with her by my side... That's all I wanted to say to you, Sirius… If you don't have anything else to say, then I shall be going back to my own dorms now." Regulus finally said and turned away towards the Slytherin's dorms, leaving Sirius alone, dumbfounded by the information he had just received.

Walking back to his own dorms, Sirius' mind kept going over and over the things Regulus just said, his facial expressions, his tone of voice. When did he get so tall? He was almost as tall as himself and perhaps even taller in the future! How dare he!? He used to be so cute and obedient. Where did the Regulus that followed him everywhere go? Or perhaps… where did the Sirius who brought his younger brother everywhere go…? When was the last time that they have actually talked to each other, looking at each other's eyes? No. When was the last time they have looked at each other in the eyes like this? Even if it was just for the sake of an argument? Sirius started avoiding his own brother, ignoring his existence even, since the moment the Thinking Hat declared him a Slytherin. No. Perhaps even sooner… The relationship started growing apart ever since he started attending Hogwarts, the moment he was declared Griffindor, the moment everyone understood that he was the white sheep in the family "Don't even joke with me!" he punched the wall in frustration "If you think I would be influenced by your antics then you are wrong! Don't make it as if I was the one to-" Regulus' childish smiling face and his hurtful teenage expressions flashed through Sirius' mind "- be at fault…."

"_I love her… I would have given anything and everything to protect her."_

"_When was the last time you looked at him in the eyes?"_

Sirius' heart ached at the realization that there was no place for him to get in between these two. He leaned against the wall and dropped himself down to the floor, his hand tightly clutching his left chest. "It hurts…"

"Sirius? What are you doing here?" Sirius turned to the side and recognized his best mate James "Huh? Why are you clutching your chest?" the man rushed to his side, examining him for any sign of injuries "Did someone attack you?"

"_He doesn't have any friends…"_ Cynthia's words resonated in his head

"No, I'm alright…" he reassured his best mate "I just feel so… empty…"

"Sirius?"

But no matter how much James tried to pull out information from Sirius, the latter just brushed him aside, saying "I'm alright… Really… I just need some time to rethink things… Sorry, James."

However their chance for speaking slipped away as the time for the Final exams had arrives. And although the sixth years didn't have NEWT exams yet, they still had to pass their intended NEWT subjects in order to carry on the subjects in the seventh year.

The same thing was happening with Regulus and Cynthia. They couldn't meet each other, but continued to exchange letters and Leonis was very happy to deliver them. Leonis knew how much Cynthia loved Regulus. In the owl's mind, Cynthia's crying face was as vivid as the night was to an owl like him. It was his first assigned task too. He had thought he had done something wrong and had gone his way to collect flower for his master. It wasn't much later that Leonis understood the real reason behind Cynthia's sadness, when she finally told him the reason while writing a letter to Melody. Regulus Black was the reason and this gave the bird an official reason to hate the guy.

On the other hand, Leonis suddenly remembered Regulus' facial expressions when he had delivered his first letter. A complex wave of emotions passed through and disappeared, returning Regulus' face to an expressionless one. But his eyes seemed to hold a glint of happiness. From that moment Leonis knew Regulus Black wasn't a bad person… but that didn't mean he couldn't hate the guy. He constantly made his master sad with all the sent back birthday cards and presents.

However, the situation was different now. Regulus Black replied to Cynthia's mails, she is happy and she petted his small head and that was all that he needed. Besides, from their first meeting, Regulus had gained Leonis' trust. A person can lie, but their eyes will definitely give them away.

One might think that a bird would be incapable of such observations and thoughts. However, they would be surprised at how bright Leonis was. Just so that you know, he was the most famous owl in Hogwarts, not to mention the most popular with female owls too. Every year, he would work part-time delivering letters (mostly for Dumbledore or some other lecturers) so that he could earn some small change to buy Cynthia birthday presents. It was mostly small pastries or ribbons, but Cynthia treasured them very much. She would usually share the pastries with him as his reward. Even now the Hogsmeade shop keepers would reminiscence and compliment Leonis every time they meet Cynthia. She couldn't be more proud of him.

But that would be enough about our beloved Leonis and get back to the topic of Cynthia and Regulus. Regulus knew how unfair he was to Cynthia. This wasn't just about the past, but even now. He still avoided her, still pretended not knowing her in public. He was still as cold as ice. All the time they had spent together could just vanish like a dream, if it wasn't for the letters exchanged between them every day. He was being unfair, but his selfishness and desire didn't want to ever let her go. The only thing he could do was to pray. Pray that she would never leave him. He had plans though, things he had to do as soon as these exams were over. Things he had to do to really stand beside her.

Exam time soon ended and students were packing their things for the summer holidays. Sirius was now back to his normal self, pranking his way with his best mate – James. As for Cynthia and Regulus, they were also able to arrange their own share of meetings.

"I knew you'd be up here." the voice rang from above.

Cynthia was currently sitting at the highest tower of Hogwarts, where the star observation deck was. It was Wednesday, the only night when the Observation deck was available to fifth year students. "Regulus!" she called. He was flying on his broom, still wearing his Quidditch jerseys. He flew closer to her, gradually descending until he was on his feet. "You still have to practice Quidditch even though the exams are just over?" she asked, concerned about his well-being.

"No." he laughed "It is exactly because the exams are over that I went for a fly to relax myself. Practice was just a part of it. Besides, I could say the same thing about you. The exams are just over and here you are, on the Observation deck already."

"No-no that's because" she blushed and lowered her voice "I just wanted to observe you star closer…"

"Really now." He half blushed, half laughed "Should you really be observing a star, when you have the real thing right next to you?"

"I-I know, but -"

He didn't let her finish and pulled her to him, hugging her close "I don't want you to look at anything else, but me." He lifted her chin up to place a soft kiss on her lips. Cynthia almost didn't have any time to react to his suddenness, when he pulled away immediately and said "Come on, let's do something more fun." grinning mischievously.

"W-what?"

… Cynthia and Regulus were now sitting on the broom with Cynthia in the front and Regulus at the back "R-Regulus?" she asked timidly

"Come on, show me your flying skills Cynthia. I want to check if you have improved since our first year." he smiled

"O-Of course I have!" she stumbled

"Then show it to me, Cynthia" he whispered in her ear as she blushed and accidentally kicked off the ground, lifting both of them into the air. However, as her emotions were out of control, her brain couldn't focus on the task at hand, making the broom rock and spin around wildly. Just that moment, Regulus leaned towards and place his hands on hers, stabilizing the broom until it stood still in the air "So you have improved." he laughed. Hard.

"B-but just now was your fault!" she blushed from embarrassment as well as a bit of anger.

"I know." he nested his head in the nook of her neck, hands wrapping around her waist "But unlike the me of 5 years ago, I now have enough power to help you, to protect you…"

* * *

**~ Flashback ~ Flying class~**

Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday — and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together. The students were chatting away, when the teacher Professor Rolanda, arrived. "Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." She waited for the students to get in line next to a broom "Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Professor Rolanda at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP" everyone shouted.

The brooms jumped into the student's hands, with some exceptions such as rolling to the side or in Cynthia's case, not moving from the ground at all. Her control over magic was still hectic and no thank you for the other students, who started snickering about her lack of ability, despite being the Headmaster's granddaughter. But eventually, she got it right. Professor Rolanda then showed each student how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Professor Rolanda. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two — one!"

At first, Cynthia's broom, again, didn't move at all. However, she gave the ground a really hard kick, when it suddenly rose up and rocked around. Scarred, Cynthia gripped the broom as well as closed her eyes tightly. Her head was spinning and she had no idea what to do.

Just as Regulus was about to fly over to her aid, a shadow flew right pass him. It was Professor Rolanda. Professor skillfully grabbed Cynthia's broom, calming it down and bringing her back to the ground. Regulus was glad that she was safe and sound, but the fact that he couldn't save her haunted him for a long time.

* * *

"Regulus," Cynthia whispered "I don't want to be protected all the time, I want to protect you too."

He chuckled in her ear "Coming from someone, who can't live one day without falling down the stairs at least twice."

"A-at least -" Cynthia flustered at how much of a tease Regulus was being at the moment "I have tried to lower it to once a day now!"

"Shh…" he hushed her and turned her face towards his, placing a kiss upon her lips "I love you."

~~ xxx ~~

"You got everything, Cynthia?" Lily asked

"Yeah, let's go." she grabbed a small bag and followed Lily down the stairs. Both of them were chatting away happily when a voice rang up, stopping them briefly "Hey, Cynthia, your bag is open." they look back and saw that it was no other than Remus Lupin "Careful now, or your books will fall all out."

"Oh, I didn't notice…" Cynthia said sheepishly "I thought I have zipped it all up already…" Pulling the bag down from her shoulders, Cynthia noticed a nice smell coming from it. The smell actually belonged to the small bouquet of blue-purple Hyancinth. She picked them up for close inspection and noted a small dog ornament hanging loosely on the ribbon that held the bouquet in place "Sirius…" she whispered

"So what do you say?" James smiled knowingly, as Cynthia briefly wondered when did he come.

"He didn't have to do this, I wasn't angry with him or anything." she smiled and hugged the bouquet close "But I'm happy. These flowers are not easy to come by during this season." She looked up "But where is the person himself?"

"He must be too shy to see you now." James laughed "Give the guy some time and he will be right back." and placed his hand on her head lightly "Here, have some Licorice wands. Got you favorite rose flavor here too."

Cynthia pouted a bit "I'm not a kid anymore, James", but a smile grew on her face "But thanks!"

Looking back at her relationship with the Marauders, Cynthia could see the future, when she and Regulus could also smile and chat away openly together with her friends and especially his brother Sirius.

* * *

Wall of gratitude here:

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	9. Chapter 8: Family

Hello again everyone, Fuuyumi speaking. Long long time has passed, I know and I'm sorry.

Life is not an excuse, but it does get in the way of... other things.

The span of my update will surely get longer and longer *turning away from all the old projects, stuffs them into some invisible corner, but they keep spilling out*, but I do hope that I can still continue this hobby in the long run. I'm also having some plans to go abroad, so ... who knows

At any rate, enough of my rambling and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Family**

Summer this year felt so much longer than the previous ones. Cynthia couldn't help, but wonder how Regulus was doing and could only wish for the school year to begin soon. Her grandfather was mostly absent from home, attending all the Ministry of Defense meetings for the upcoming war, leaving her and Leonis home with Melody. The young girl was very excited to see her house-elf again. There were so many things that couldn't be expressed through letters and many other things that she has yet to even share with Lily yet. But to Melody, Cynthia was ready to share anything.

Regulus had told her that he had something in mind and asked her to trust him and wait for him. It wasn't like she didn't trust him, but she was worried nonetheless. She remembered the howler that Sirius had received last year when he ran away from his own family. It was difficult not to remember it really, especially with Mrs Black's screeching voice. It would seem that this was his second one after having been sorted into Griffindor. Although it was painful to admit, Sirius had always been a white sheep in his family, who defied all his parents' teachings, but in Regulus' case, he had always been there to listen to his parents, not questioning them openly like Sirius did. Thus, Regulus might have been more of a perfect son in their parents' eyes. What would happen to Mr and Mrs Black now if their better favored child was going to defy them also. Cynthia was worried that they would be sad, depressed rather than angry.

"I wonder if I could do anything for them…" Cynthia didn't wish for the family to fall apart. She didn't have any parents, but she understood the joys of having a family, people to back you up, a place to come home to. Grandfather and Melody were her family now and could never imagine a life without them now. And family was something important to Regulus too, as she knew he had been trying to maintain and safeguard all these years. If so, Cynthia took it as her task to think of a way to mend the Black family's ties together again. Meddlesome as it sounded, Cynthia knew she had and wanted to do it, in order to be worthy of standing by Regulus' side.

"Leonis" she stroked the bird's soft feathers "I can't believe how much I miss him already. It makes me wonder how did I even get by all these years… I guess I'll just have to gaze at his star instead." Cynthia looked through the horoscope at the bright Regulus star, marking the Leo Constellation.

Cynthia turned to the door at the sound of its opening "Are you still watching the stars Cynthia? It's quite late already, you should go to bed now." The house-elf asked in concern.

"Yes Melody. I just lost track of time because the sky is so clear today and the stars are shining brightly."

"Hmm, I wonder if it's because of the starry sky or because of a certain someone~" Melody teased, earning and extremely embarrassed expression from Cynthia

"It's just that… I have waited for so long in order to talk to him. And then when I finally had the chance to, everything happened so fast and sometimes I still wonder, if everything was just a dream…" Cynthia looked up to the skies. Sensing his master's loneliness, Leonis nudged his head into Cynthia's hand, bringing her back to reality. Cynthia chuckled and rubbed his small head affectionately "Thanks, Leonis."

Melody also came closer and placed her hand on Cynthia's "Don't worry, your patience all these years was not a lie. You just need to continue believing in him, just as you have always done before."

Cynthia smiled and nodded "Yes Melody, I will."

And thus, that day came again, when the Kingcross' station would be filled with students, rushing their way to the train for the one and only Witch and Wizards school – Hogwards. Cynthia excitedly walked to the boarding platform with Melody to see Lily rushing over to the younger girl to hug the life out of her. The masculine party arrived just a moment later and James didn't hesitate to throw his arm around Cynthia's shoulders affectionately.

"Congratulations on becoming a Prefect, James." Cynthia smiled looking up to meet his eyes.

"Yeah thanks! I'm totally excited about it. My Lily and I are so going to have lots of fun patrolling together." he winked as the red-head turned away from them. "She is just being shy." James whispered to Cynthia

"I think so to." Cynthia whispered back "But don't push yourself on her to fast or she will be angry again, okay? Know that I'm rooting for you too. But I won't forgive you if you hurt her either."

"I know, I know, you are starting to sound like Remus again. I thought I was your favorite brother..." he pouted "Just wait a minute, you didn't grow taller, did you Cynthia?" he questioned

"Well, I think I did, but it's not that much."

James let go of her, straightened both hers, Lily's (and earned a 'what in the world are you doing, Potter!' from her) and finally his back and started to compare their heights "Yeah, I'm still taller." he sighed in relief

"You can't be seriously hung up on that, Potter." Lily rubbed her temples. He had been constantly pestering her and pleading her about not getting any taller than she already was.

"I'm not Sirius, but I'm serious about it!" James couldn't help but throw in the cliché pun of his best mate's name "Just imagine how unromantic it would be if I have to stand on my toes or you had to bend your knees or something when we kissed! Old fashioned I may be, but I will not tolerate that!"

"Wha-!" Lily turned bright red "Whoever said that I had any intention to k-k-k-k—ki-" Lily's face overheated as she forced herself to shut down her brain from imagining the above scenery. She went silent and only muttered quietly to Cynthia "I'm going to Prefects' meeting now." And went on her way.

The whole group was shocked of Lily's reaction to James' joke. Normally she would have exploded at such harassment jokes. James couldn't snap out from his surprise and was hanging his mouth open. "Hey, aren't you supposed to go to, James?" Sirius asked and James turned to look at him in realization.

He immediately took off "Wait for me Lily!"

Sirius, Remus and Peter looked at their best mate amusingly, joking how obvious Lily was and that James was so going to sweep Lily off her feet or things like that.

"So Sirius, you were talking about the regime that Mr Potter trained you with this summer?" Peter asked

"Oh yes!" Sirius exclaimed "James and I had to beg Mr Potter to trains us, you know? And now with all the skills that we have gained, I'm sure the NEWTs this year will be just a piece of cake. We'll be Aurors in no time! Too bad that you couldn't stay over, Peter, but we can just teach you all the exercises and we can practice together this year."

"Sounds good to me." Peter said

Noticing the lack of communication from the only remaining girl in the group, Sirius subtly turned his head and gaze towards her direction. But her eyes weren't on them, nor the couple who stormed away a few moments ago. They were darting around the platform looking for someone.

Regulus. That was for sure.

Ever since the day he had that talk with his younger brother, Sirius had done some real active thinking. He remembered that summer two years ago. When he had ran away from his house and family, he didn't actually think or plan ahead about the things he would need and care about for his own livelihood. He was sure that it would work our somehow and he did have a full school year to think about it. And the truth remained that… he had totally forgot about it. He had fun with his friends, playing, pranking, sleeping around as always until his best friends James actually brought up that subject to him by the end of the year, right before the summer holidays, saying that his parents have taken a liking to him during his stay over at Christmas and they would be happy to let Sirius stay at the Potters house for the summer and even until his coming of age.

Now don't get me wrong, the Marauders did have one, and maybe only, reasonable guy in their group – Remus. And thus, do not let me undermine his role, as a mother of the Marauders, to remind Sirius of the importance of planning and thinking ahead of things. But of course, no one liked listening to lectures, even if it was from their best friends, so Remus' words just had to go with the wind.

Digging back around the past made Sirius realize how irresponsible he was to things, and this was about himself not to add. And if we think even more backwards, more bad things would just come up and that was not the point here. The point of this reminiscence was that he realized how fortunate he was to have such good friends like James, Remus and Peter. Where would he go and what would he do without them.

'_Friends…He isn't blessed with these things, Sirius…'_

Cynthia… Why did that girl had so much effect on him. It frustrated him that there was some girl that understood his younger brother more than he did. Despite all the bad things that Sirius said about his younger brother now, he was quite over-protective of Regulus before, seeing how small and weak the younger boy was when he was small. Not to mention cute too. And it broke his heart to no end, that it wasn't just some girl, but Cynthia. Why, out of all the girls that he could take in this Hogwarts, it just had to be her, the only girl he could never have. The only girl… that he had given his heart and soul to.

'_No.' _Sirius denied in his mind _'I haven't lost just yet.'_ Sirius knew that changing himself into somebody else would never make Cynthia's eyes turn his way, not to mention that he had tried that trick before. If she was to turn her eyes his way, he wanted her to like him for who he was. Although, he could think of some things that might need some improvement. Mainly, he needed to talk to his younger brother again. In a civilized way, if possible. And maybe this time, just maybe really, he had understood what Regulus might have been feeling all this time.

"Hey Sirius, are you coming or not?" Remus' voice broke him out of his trance to see that the others have already started boarding the train. Did he really space out that long?

"Y-yeah, coming!"

"Something caught your eye, Sirius?" Cynthia giggled. Ah, heavenly music to his ears "Or was it someone?"

"Someone." Sirius answered, looking straight at her, hoping to convey his message through eye contact only "It was definitely someone."

"Oh…" Cynthia stumbled from his answer. Her reaction surprised Sirius as he felt her withdrawing herself from him. Did this mean that his message really got through her? Or did this mean something else? _'No, don't bring your hopes up!'_ was what he was telling himself, but couldn't prevent his heartbeat from increasing its rate as he awaited the continuation of her speech. His breath hitched in is throat as she looked up at him "Well…"

'_Well..?'_

"…I guess I should wish you good luck then."

Sirius' eyes went big as a dragon egg _'W-what?'_

"I mean, it gets a bit lonely when you get a new girlfriend. You know, because you don't hang around the Common room or the Grand Hall that much, so it is hard to catch a glimpse of you. And I guess having so many different girlfriends is not such a good thing, but I'm not an expert in this so I have no say in these matters as well. So I thought that I should at least wish you a good luck." She gave him a little forced smile and turned ahead to look for a compartment.

Sirius felt like a deflated balloon as his two friends put their hands on his shoulders lightly in sympathy, with Peter on the left and Remus on the right. "I'm okay." he straightened up "If something like that could be used to convey my feelings to her, then I'd bet it would have been conveyed years ago… I know that she only has eyes for him until now. And perhaps it was that loyalty and sincerity that made her so irresistible to me all these year. But I'm not giving up. I will definitely make her look my way."

"That's the spirit!" Remus smiled and lightly pushed Sirius' back "But be warned that the girl you are so infatuated with has some over protective self-proclaimed brothers that would monitor and grade your performance and advances on her just like they have been doing to any other males." He joked

"Hey! Aren't we supposed to be best friends? Cut me some slack will you?" Sirius complained "How about a little bit of support here?"

"Denied. And in case you are wondering, the other male member of the Black family is also under scrutinization. Cynthia might like him, but it's not like he is off the hook just yet. But further information is not to be disclosed to you, were direct words from Prongs."

"Hey, some friends you guys are!" Sirius hissed to the retreating form of Remus. He should really rethink of this friendship that he had too…

The start of term banquet was as grand as usual. Students behind the long tables were now eagerly waiting for the first years to be sorted into different houses. Looking towards the other side of the room, Cynthia found the person she had been searching for this whole day and sighed in relief. She smiled as their eyes met and it seemed as if all their feelings and thoughts had been conveyed to the other person. Regulus was smiling, but his eyes had a hint of sadness that didn't go unnoticed by Cynthia.

After the banquet, the first year students were to be guided back and shown their rooms in the dormitories, and thus in order to control the traffic, the upper classmen would return to their own rooms about 30 minutes later, after the first years have settled in. This was the perfect time frame for Regulus and Cynthia to see each other, even if it was just for a short time.

Walking hurriedly to the less traffic hallway, where the two of them usually met, Cynthia felt as if there was somebody following her. However, before she had the time to turn around, that person had captured her from behind, his arms wrapped around her shoulder and waist. "I've missed you" he whispered in her ear.

"I've missed you too." She grabbed onto his arm and leaned backwards towards him "Regulus."

They stayed together for a while, just to savor this precious moment.

"Regulus" Cynthia finally spoke up "Are you alright?" she felt how his body stiffened up "I cannot explain this, but your eyes and voice seem unusually sad" she bid her lips in nervousness "I know I'm meddling in your business, but I would like to know and understand what you are thinking and feeling right now."

Regulus chuckled lightly "You don't have to explain yourself for rigorously" he let her go and turned her to face him "You are my girlfriend, it is obvious that I can talk with you about everything. However…" he led her to sit down on a bench to the side of the hallway "I was hoping I could escape your watchful eyes and have some time to prepare myself."

"I-I.. I'm sorry…."

"No, No, don't be. It's alright." He breathed. "I talked to my parents this summer and they said about how I will become 17 next year and that I should become a Death Eater as soon as my birthday comes. I rejected their proposal and they didn't take it very well. We argued. Mother was very angry, shouting about how could I ever become a blood traitor and blasted me of the family tree right that moment." He paused for a moment "I don't regret my decision, I guess, but it is the crying face of my mother, when I stepped out of the house, that I cannot get off from my mind…"

So the worst case of scenario had happened. Regulus had cut his ties with the Black family and his mother's tears were the proof of Cynthia's theory "Regulus." she called and held his tightly held white knuckles. "Let's not give up hope. I'm sure that there is some way we can prove to your parents that you-know-how is a threat to not only the muggle world, but also the wizards and witches' world. We can still reconnect your family's bonds. Your mother's tears are not a lie!" she smiled "The strength of our side comes from unity, and the Black family is definitely an important part of that strength!"

"Cynthia," he smiled and answered her hold with his other hand "Yes. This is not the end. My new quest has just begun."

"By the way, where did you stay after you went out of the house?" Cynthia asked

"Ah about that, I have actually contacted the Headmaster – your grandfather – beforehand and asked him, if, in the worst case of scenario, where I get kicked out of the house, can I go to school beforehand and stay at the dormitories for the remaining summer break or not. Your grandfather seemed surprised about it, but I explained to him the situation of my parents wanting to make me a Death Eater and that I would like to reject their offer. He seemed happy about my decision, but advised me. Because of my age, I would still need a guardian this year."

"Oh!" Cynthia brightened up at the mention of her grandfather's support for Regulus "So how is the situation now?"

"This would be impossible under normal circumstances, but my current would be The Headmaster himself – Professor Dumbledore"

"Really!? Grandfather is? I haven't heard from him this summer, so I didn't know anything." Cynthia pouted

Regulus chuckled "I did tell him to keep it a secret from you. However, it is getting late, so we'd better get back to our dormitories. Come on, I'll walk you back." He stood up and offered her his hand.

"Alright!"

* * *

**Wall of gratitude**

Many people seem to have problems with this wall. I know it is sometimes longer than my own story chapter, but please, I cannot live with myself, or continue with my path without the acknowledgement of the people who actually read and appreciate the story (in a good or bad ways). So I hope you, who complain, understand this principle of mine.

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